


Ice & Fire

by Monkeynutsjoe



Series: The Shepard Saga [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-25
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-23 09:13:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 216,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4871296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monkeynutsjoe/pseuds/Monkeynutsjoe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tormented and driven by a horrific past, Erisa Shepard became an Alliance Marine for one reason... vengeance. A natural leader, cold and dispassionate as an arctic wind, she stands alone, sharing control and responsibility with no one. As a new galactic threat emerges, she must confront her past and learn to command a diverse team before her ghosts overcome her. A hard bitten, equally driven marine may just be her salvation...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Mass Effect

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Desert Sunrise (sniderde92)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sniderde92/gifts).
  * Inspired by [First Life](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1453327) by [Desert Sunrise (sniderde92)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sniderde92/pseuds/Desert%20Sunrise). 



> This is an adaptation of 'First Life' by Desert Sunrise, who was gracious enough to let me play in her universe. Full credit goes to Desert Sunrise for the opening sequence; I couldn't possibly have written a better one.
> 
> fubar = f**ked up beyond all recognition

Humanity’s greatest achievement yet--a successful manned landing and exploration of the Red Planet in the year 2148 ended with discoveries greater than any rover had ever revealed. Who could have guessed Mars held evidence of an ancient space faring civilization, known as the Protheans. Less than a year later, humanity discovered that Charon, Pluto’s moon, hid a tremendous technology which allowed mankind to travel farther than ever thought possible. It had been theorized for years, but who knew we would ever be able to truly bend space and time to rapidly travel huge distances across the galaxy. The scientists called it… Mass Effect. The relay was a technological marvel to behold. A huge structure, orbiting in space, with a dark energy that pulsed around its core. It had an oblong casing, with counter-rotating disks at the core and dual arms that extended away like a tuning fork, providing a directional vector for whatever entered its reach.

They initially experimented with probes; without fail, the probes would approach the relay, the relay would light up, and the probe would accelerate off the end of the arms in a bright streak of blinding light and vanish. The communications link would last only nanoseconds before the probe disappeared forever. There were two primary schools of thought; either the probe didn't survive the encounter, or the trip took the probe so far away the scientific team could no longer talk to it. Months of debate brought the scientific community no closer to a resolution and it was finally decided the only way to know for sure would be to send an all-volunteer manned mission through the device. Volunteers were in no short supply, and soon a small team of men and women was assembled, led by Captain Jon Grissom.

As the small research vessel approached the relay, Grissom echoed the words of Neil Armstrong, "One small step for man, one giant step for mankind," and then they were gone. Those waiting at the Charon relay did not have to wait long. Within thirty minutes, all the probes they had sent through the relay started showing back up on the Charon side. The conclusion was obvious; the research vessel survived the transit and they were collecting and returning the probes for study. It was another two days before the team of explorers showed back up at the relay, but they returned with glorious news. After completing a star map, they matched the location to known stars and determined the distant end to be near a star known as Arcturus, and several other relays were in close proximity to enable further exploration.

Jon Grissom was a reluctant hero, but accepted a promotion to Commodore and the job of organizing construction on a multi-national space station, aptly named Arcturus Station. It would serve as the jumping off point for future exploration and as a defensive station guarding the mass relay to Earth. The station was inaugurated in 2156 and Earth's continued expansion into the Milky Way commenced. The human Alliance quickly became efficient at using mass relays to explore the galaxy, reaching farther into space every year. In 2157, they discovered, in truth, what they were always afraid to find…they were not alone. An unknown alien force attacked an Alliance outpost on Shanxi and resulted in what became known as the First Contact War. Jon Grissom was again thrown to the front and promoted to Rear Admiral. After a series of battles, the war was stopped by a multi-species government recognized as the Citadel Council. Responsible for preserving peace and stability, they intervened and Earth suddenly found themselves thrust onto a galactic stage much larger than they ever realized existed. After the First Contact War, Rear Admiral Jon Grissom retired amidst political blowback from his complaints about how the war was handled. Grissom retreated to colonial life on Elysium in 2160 and became a recluse, refusing all contact by the Alliance.

Construction on Arcturus station was completed in 2162, and by 2165 humanity had already been recognized as a council race and granted an embassy on the Citadel. It was a huge step forward, and many other races that had been part of the galactic community for centuries felt only two decades was too short a period for such an honour. Some extreme cases felt neglected, mistreated, resentful…and angry. Relations with the enemies of the First Contact War gradually improved over time, and finally, in 2183, a joint Human-Turian venture birthed a new prototype ship, the SSV Normandy, a frigate with advanced stealth technology. On board was Captain David Anderson, ship’s captain, and Commander Erisa Shepard, executive officer, along with Turian Spectre Nihlus Kryik, an elite agent for the Citadel Council. 

The Normandy’s first shake-down cruise was highly classified; a two-fold mission to retrieve a newly discovered Prothean beacon from a human colony on Eden Prime and deliver it to the Mars Archive, and a chance for Spectre Kryik to evaluate Commander Shepard’s potential to become the Council’s first Human Spectre. As the Normandy exited the Utopia Relay, Commander Erisa Shepard stood on the bridge alongside their Turian passenger, watching silently as the Normandy’s pilot, Flight Lieutenant Jeff “Joker” Moreau, checked off the board. “Thrusters... check. Navigation... check. Internal emissions sink engaged. All systems online. Drift... just under 1500k.” 

Behind him, the Turian nodded once, his alien face with its clan markings in white paint inscrutable. “1500 is good; your captain will be pleased.” Without another word the Spectre turned and walked away, heading back into the ship’s CIC.

Moreau, a slimly built man with a rough auburn beard, threw a sarcastic look over to Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, the ship’s biotic, who was currently manning the co-pilot’s station. “I hate that guy.”

Alenko’s eyebrow rose as he glanced away from his console and at the Normandy’s pilot. “Nihlus gave you a compliment... so you hate him?”

“You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom? That’s good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead, so that’s incredible! Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don’t like having him onboard. Call me paranoid.”

Alenko shook his head and sighed. “You’re paranoid. The Council helped fund this project; they have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment.”

The pilot almost snorted and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that is the official story. But only an idiot believes the official story.” 

Standing in the dimly lit cockpit behind the two arguing sailors, Commander Erisa Shepard shook her head and spoke, her voice firm; brooking no argument. “That’s enough. You’re soldiers, act like it or I’ll find crewmen that can and you two can spend the rest of this shakedown scrubbing latrines.”

Suitably chastised, both Alenko and Moreau looked back to the dark-skinned woman who was their XO and nodded in respect. “Sorry, Commander,” they echoed dutifully. Just then the comms panel pinged and the deep, commanding voice of Captain Anderson filled the frigate’s small bridge. “Joker! Status report.”

“Just cleared the mass relay, Captain. Stealth system is engaged. Everything is solid.”

“Good, find a comm. buoy and link us into the network, I want mission reports relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime.”

“Aye aye, sir. Better brace yourself; I think Nihlus is headed your way.”

“He’s already here, Lieutenant.”

Joker shook his head at his own gaffe but at least he knew enough to keep from groaning audibly. “Tell Commander Shepard to meet us in the comm. room for a debriefing, Anderson out.”

Before the flight lieutenant could even pass on the message, Shepard had turned towards the cockpit’s hatchway. “I’m on my way.”

Stepping off the Normandy’s bridge, Shepard strode down the deck plates of the frigate and into the CIC; nodding to the various crewmen she passed. She worked hard to keep her relationships with the men and women under her professional, maintaining a cool distance from them; she wasn’t here to be their friend, she was their XO and the Commander never let them forget it. Rounding the CIC’s central hub, she was about to step past the ship’s doctor and one of the Normandy’s marines into the comm. room when she overheard the conversation between the two.

“I grew up on Eden Prime, Doc. It’s not the kind of place Spectres visit. There’s something Nihlus isn’t telling us about this mission.”

The ship’s Chief Medical Officer, an older, stern looking Englishwoman, shook her head gently as if she were talking to a child. “That’s crazy. The Captain’s in charge here. He wouldn’t take orders from a Spectre.”

“Not his choice, Doc,” the youthful marine continued in an exuberant tone. “Spectres don’t answer to anyone. They can do whatever they want. Kill anyone who gets in their way.”

“Ha! You watch too many spy vids, Jenkins.”

As Shepard walked past the pair, the Corporal couldn’t contain his enthusiasm and let slip a question to his normally reserved XO. “What do you think, Commander? We won’t be staying on Eden Prime too long, will we? I’m itching for some real action!”

“I sincerely hope you’re kidding, Corporal,” said the doctor, “Your ‘real action’ usually ends with me patching up crew members in the infirmary.”

“Doctor Chakwas is right, Corporal. Only a fool goes looking for a fight.” Dark, muted eyes looked the young marine up and down before the Commander spoke again, her tone questioning. “You’re not a fool, are you Jenkins?”

The young marine stiffened, his face flushing a little; though whether it was in embarrassment at the commander’s comment or in indignation at the suggestion he was a fool, Erisa didn’t yet know. “Sorry, Commander, but this waiting’s killing me. I’ve never been on a mission like this before. Not one with a Spectre on board!”

Shepard eyed the corporal critically, her own expression inscrutable before she spoke. “Nihlus is a soldier just like you and I, Jenkins. As long as you do your job and follow my orders there won’t be any problems.”

“Easy for you to say. You proved yourself on Akuze; everybody knows what you can do. This is my big chance. I need to show the brass what I can do!” At the briefest mention of Akuze, the sailors nearby stiffened and went quiet, a dozen eyes now nervously watching the exchange between the young Corporal and their XO.  
For her part, Shepard’s jaw tensed noticeably at the name and her nostrils flared, her voice becoming tight with rigidly caged emotion. “We haven’t served together before Corporal, so let me give you some advice I strongly suggest you take. Do not repeat that name in my presence again. Ever. Are we clear on that, marine?” Those dark eyes glittered like black ice as she cast a glowering look around the CIC; sending sailors scurrying back to their duties before she rounded on Jenkins again. “This mission isn’t about personal glory, corporal. We have a job to do. We’re Alliance marines and that means we’ll do it well and we’ll do it professionally. So don’t do anything stupid to fubar it!”

The corporal stood at attention now, somewhat shamefaced, but to his credit he took the dressing down well and acknowledged her orders. “Don’t worry Ma’am. I’m not going to do anything to screw this up.”

The Commander watched Jenkins a moment longer with that fierce glower then turned and nodded to the doctor. “Chakwas. You’ll excuse me, the Captain is expecting me.”

Entering the comm. room, Shepard was met by the Spectre, Nihlus; the tall turian agent looking over a topographical map of the colony below them on the surface. Turning to greet her, he gave what passed for a smile. “Commander Shepard. I was hoping you'd get here first. It will give us a chance to talk.”

Shepard eyed the Council Spectre warily, unsure of his motives and the reason behind his being onboard. As exuberant as the Corporal was, he was also right. Spectres didn’t go on shakedown runs without a definite purpose. “What about?”

“I'm interested in this world we're going to - Eden Prime.” He replied in a friendly tone. “I've heard it's quite beautiful.”

She gave a casual shrug and ignored the attempt to put her at ease. “I wouldn’t know, Nihlus. I'm a marine, not some tourist on vacation.”

Nihlus wasn’t going to be quiet though and kept pushing, trying to get a read on the Commander’s icy personality. “It's more than just a tourist destination though, isn't it Shepard? Eden Prime is a symbol of your people: a perfect little world on the edges of your territory. Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy, but also protect them. But how safe is it really?”

The Commander tired of the verbal fencing and bluntly went to the point. “If you've got something to say Nihlus, just say it. Stop dancing around the point.”

That got a flicker or reaction out of the turian, a mandible twitching. “Your people are still newcomers, Shepard. The galaxy can be a very dangerous place. Is the Alliance truly ready for this?”

The Captain entered the conference room quietly and approached the two of them; Shepard turning to salute as she came to attention. Anderson gave her a nod and looked at Nihlus. “I think it's about time we told the commander what's really going on, don’t you?”

With a nod of agreement, Nihlus finally got to the heart of the matter. “This mission is far more than a simple shakedown run, Shepard.”

She did her best to keep the biting sarcasm out of her voice, but a little made it through anyway, tingeing her words. “I already figured that much out, thanks.”

Anderson gave her a warning stare. “We're making a covert pick up on Eden Prime. That's why we needed the Normandy’s stealth systems operational.”

Falling back to an at ease position, Shepard buried her snark behind professionalism. “What's the payload, Captain?”

“A research team on Eden Prime unearthed some kind of beacon during an excavation.” The Captain replied, “It was Prothean.” Shepard had to raise an arched brow at that piece of news. “I thought the Protheans vanished fifty thousand years ago.”

Nihlus nodded. “Their legacy still remains, however. The mass relays, the Citadel, our ship drives - it's all based on Prothean technology.”

Anderson continued as the Spectre fell quiet. “This is big, Shepard. The last time humanity made a discovery like this, it jumped our technology forward two hundred years. But Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities to handle something like this. We need to bring the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study.”

Nihlus picked up again. “Obviously, this goes beyond mere human interests, Commander. This discovery could affect every species in Council space.”

She frowned at that, her quick mind beginning to grasp the implications behind why the Normandy had been required. “Are we expecting trouble?”

“I'm always expecting trouble,” was the response from the turian. She actually smiled at that, her frosty facade cracking. Maybe this Spectre wasn’t so bad. They thought alike, at least. 

“There's more, Shepard,” said the Captain. “Nihlus isn't just here for the beacon. He's also here to evaluate you.” 

Shepard’s eyes narrowed, she didn’t like not knowing what was happening here. “What's going on, Captain?” she said in a wary voice.

“The Alliance has been pushing for this for a long time, Commander,” he replied. “Humanity wants a larger role in shaping interstellar policy. We want more say with the Citadel Council. The Spectres represent the Council's authority and power. If they accept a human into their ranks, it shows how far the Alliance has come.”  
“Not many could have survived what you went through on Akuze,” Nihlus said, a note of admiration in his dry voice. “You showed a remarkable will to live - a particularly useful talent. That's why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres.”

Shepard grunted at another mention of that hellhole; she hated hearing even the name, let alone being reminded of what had happened there. “Why would a turian want a human in the Spectres?”

The Spectre shrugged. “Not all turians resent humanity, Shepard. Some of us see the potential of your species. We see what you have to offer to the rest of the galaxy... and to the Spectres. We are an elite group. It's rare to find an individual with the skills we seek. I don't care that you're human, Shepard. I only care that you can do the job.”

Casting her dark eyes to the Captain, she chose her words tactfully. “I assume that this is good for the Alliance...”

He nodded solemnly. “Earth needs this, Shepard. We're counting on you.”

“I need to see your skills for myself, Commander,” it was Nihlus again. “Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together.”

Anderson finally laid out the mission parameters. “You will be in charge of the ground team. Secure the beacon and get it onto the ship ASAP. Nihlus will accompany you to observe the mission.”

She nodded, seemed an easy enough first mission for an evaluation. “Just give the word, Captain.”

He nodded, happy to see she wasn’t going to fight him on this. “We should be getting close to Eden-“

Joker’s voice interrupted them, an urgency in his voice. “Captain! We've got a problem.”

“What's wrong, Joker?”

“Transmission from Eden Prime, sir. You better see this!”

Anderson nodded, his reply curt. “Bring it up on screen.”

A video transmission from groundside came up on the main holoscreens in the conference room. It showed Alliance soldiers under heavy fire, a squad of marines getting cut to pieces in a cross fire while the unit commander relayed a hurried, almost panicked mayday through his communications specialist before he was cut off, gunned down before another marine, a woman in a white Phoenix hard suit took command. Above it all, a huge airborne dreadnought hung in the background sky; red energy pouring off of it as it descended like some great hand from the heavens. The dreadnought was of purely alien design, like nothing any of them had ever seen, and then the video feed got abruptly cut off. Joker’s voice was sombre as the video finished. “Everything cuts out after that. No comm traffic at all. Just goes dead. There's nothing.”

The Captain looked thoughtful and he barked out an order. “Reverse the message and hold at 38.5.” The video rewound and froze on a static image of the dreadnought. It was massive, and totally unlike anything any of them had ever seen. “Status report!”

“Seventeen minutes out Captain. No other Alliance ships in the area.”

Anderson’s face became grim. “Take us in, Joker. Fast and quiet. This mission just got a lot more complicated.”

Looking at the screen capture of the giant dreadnought, Shepard keyed in her comms. “Alenko, Jenkins. Grab your gear and meet us in the hold. We’re going groundside.”


	2. Eden Prime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fubar = f**ked up beyond all recognition  
> LZ = Landing Zone  
> sierras = military code for Synthetics  
> SMG = submachinegun  
> HUD = heads up display

The four-man ground team consisted of Nihlus Kryik, Spectre; Corporal Richard Jenkins, soldier; Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, biotic; and Lieutenant Commander Erisa Shepard, Infiltrator. A Spectre was an elite Special Tactics and Reconnaissance agent, not bound by standard galactic law, and who carried out special missions for the Citadel Council. They were considered above the law and generally given complete discretion over how they accomplished the missions assigned to them, but Spectre status could be revoked by the Council in cases of gross misconduct. As a Spectre, Nihlus was used to working independently, so he moved out silently through the shadows to scout ahead and try to locate the beacon. He also needed to evaluate Commander Shepard, so needed to watch and listen from afar to see how she performed.

As an experienced officer and marine, Shepard led from the front. She was an Infiltrator; a deadly tactical soldier skilled in sabotage and hacking techniques, known for her precise and lethal sniper kills. With the use of an optical tactical cloak, Infiltrators would quickly and invisibly move into position and execute a long range takedown, or more often a kill, frequently before the enemy was even aware of their presence. To maintain a balance between stealth and front-line contact, they generally wore medium armour and carried both their trademark sniper rifle and a fast cycling submachine gun. Shepard was no exception. This was her first ground mission aboard the Normandy, and she hadn't worked with either of the two soldiers with her. Captain Anderson had assigned the ground team, so she had to make do with who he picked but she had carefully reviewed their technical and range scores, as well as any available after ops. reports on combat situations the two had been involved in. It was important she understood their abilities, strengths and weaknesses so she would know best where and how to deploy them. The tactical advantage often meant more to an Infiltrator than sheer numbers or power.

As they secured their primary LZ and began to move down the rocky pathway to try to locate the dig site and accompanying research station where the beacon had been discovered, Shepard watched Alenko. He was a Sentinel, a mixed biotic and technical specialist who could manipulate dark energy with his mind to create a variety of effects to shield, move or destroy objects in the physical realm at a distance. He needed to be able to move light and fast, so wore minimal armour and carried only his pistol. The Corporal was back-up muscle, fairly young and very eager to make his mark in the Alliance military. As a standard Alliance Marine, Jenkins was a tough combatant, trained in a wide variety of standard weapons, who relied on martial arts, physical prowess and mental conditioning to outlast and outfight the enemy. A front line trooper wearing heavy armour and jumping right in to the thick of the fight, Shepard expected his load out to be a standard issue assault rifle, maybe with a back-up pistol for close combat.

As the team came to the base of a hill, Shepard dropped to one knee and put her fist up to indicate a hold. Scanning ahead through the high res. scope on her rifle, the way seemed clear. Methodically she indicated via hand signals that Jenkins should move ahead on point with Alenko on the right flank whilst she brought up the rear and left. As soon as the orders were given the three man team began to move forward, alert and near to cover should they need it, but the first attack came before she even saw it. Three aerial attack drones crested the rise not far ahead of them and closed with unexpected speed. Her voice barked to life across the comm. channels as she snapped out combat orders. “Go to cover and return fire! Mark your targets! Jenkins, centre drone. Alenko, right flank!”

The Lieutenant reacted quickest; caught away from cover he nevertheless tossed a biotic throw at the drone to the right then drew his Phalanx heavy pistol and double tapped the damaged target, finishing it off. Shepard had swiftly activated her tactical cloak and levelled her Viper sniper’s rifle at the leftmost drone, a slow breath and a squeeze of the trigger sending a high velocity round right through its central sensor and into its CPU, destroying it entirely. Seeing the Lieutenant was too far from cover and with the last drone bearing down on them with guns blazing, Jenkins put his faith in his heavier Mantis armour and sprinted to the right across the battlefield, shoving the more lightly armoured Alenko in behind a rocky outcropping. Caught in the open now and without time to return fire, the last drone rapidly riddled Jenkins' exposed flank with armour piercing rounds. Shepard and Alenko both launched attacks of their own from cover, a warp from Alenko and Shepard targeted the drone with an overload, a massive electrical charge that overwhelmed the drone’s systems even as the warp tore it apart at a molecular level. Shepard scanned the top of the crest through her scope a second time before stepping out of cover; her rifle cradled in her arm but ready to snap into position in an instant.

Alenko ran to Jenkins to provide medical assistance and realized it was too late. "Commander! Those rounds cut right through his heavy armour!" Reaching down, he closed Jenkins' eyes and collected one of the dog tags off his chain, “He... he saved my life.” Kaidan said, not quite sure what else to do.

Shepard stood beside her brooding squad mate, looking down at Jenkins herself and her voice was soft and strangely pained. “Dammit Jenkins... I told you not to fubar this.  LT,” she muttered as she addressed Alenko. “Mark his location for recovery when we’re done here. Then salvage thermal clips, medigel packs and power units for kinetic barriers. That goes for any other marine we find.” A glance up at the truly enormous dreadnought still standing over the colony gave her an ominous feeling. “We’re not leaving a single man behind, but I get the distinct feeling we’re gonna need the supplies a lot more than they will. Let’s move!” Shepard’s face was a steely mask as they pressed on but her emotions slowly simmered beneath the surface, not five minutes into the mission and she’d already lost a man. Intel had screwed the pooch on this one without a doubt, and she was furious.   

They got back on the move and for quite a stretch all they found were more dead marines along with the occasional colonist. The synthetics had advanced ammo and it was tearing the defending Marine units to pieces. Alenko moved amongst the dead, efficiently stripping off their dogtags along with spare thermal clips and medigel. He didn’t use the tech-based kinetic barriers most soldiers employed, relying instead on his own biotic barriers so any power packs were tossed to Shepard; she’d need them as her tactical cloak utilised the same projector pathways as the kinetic barriers. Infiltrators were well known for complaining about running low on barrier packs during firefights.

\-------------------------------------------------------------

Running. That’s all she’d been doing now for what seemed like hours, ever since the dreadnought had appeared in the skies above Eden Prime and disgorged it’s horde of mechs. Rounding a bend in the ravine that led to the Prothean dig site, Marine Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212 threw herself into cover behind a rocky tor and took stock. Her Phoenix hard suit had taken a fair amount of battle damage in her squad’s initial encounter with the strange battle mechs; carbon scoring and shrapnel patterns marred its white plates. She was down to one last barrier pack for her shields and running extremely low on medigel. Most of it had been used on other members of the 212’s Dog Squad in their first firefight as the mech’s had been using some kind of advanced ammo that had torn through barriers and hard suits alike. Ashley choked back an involuntary sob as she thought of her squad. They were gone now, half of them lost in that first engagement and the others picked off as she’d led them in a failed flanking attempt; trying to get around the enemy and back to a defensible position at the colony itself. _Oh, God,_ she thought to herself, _Bhatia, Pennyloafer, Donkey, Rasputin... all gone._ But she couldn’t rest yet, couldn’t allow herself to grieve. She was still alive and she had to keep going, had to hope their distress signal had made it off planet and out to the relay’s comm. buoy. _The Alliance will send help; I just need to stay alive until then._ Checking her weapons, she cursed. Her Vindicator battle rifle had perhaps a half charge left in its thermal clip and her pistol had maybe three or four shots. She had no spare clips either, and there were no caches nearby to resupply from. She could only hope she found other marines, dead or alive, to salvage from. Catching her breath, she peeked around the corner only to catch the attention of a patrolling aerial drone, which soon alerted more of its kind. “Fuck!” she cursed, and bolted from cover. Staying in one spot was futile against aerial drones that could easily manoeuvre to outflank her and trap her against the stony tor so she had to keep moving. As she ran she felt rounds impact on her kinetic barrier and she drew her pistol, discharging the last few rounds she had back at them then tossing the weapon as its thermal clip met its limit. _God,_ she prayed as she ran, _I could really use the cavalry right about now!_

\--------------------------------------------------------

 As Shepard and Alenko continued to move forward, they finally started to hear gunfire, drawing closer by the second. Slapping her helmet to indicate take cover, Shepard ran forward to some rocks to find shelter. The pair moved from cover to cover as quickly as possible, as the gunfire continued to draw closer. Finally, as they worked around one last corner, they saw a lone marine performing a fighting withdrawal, greatly outnumbered by synthetics of a type Shepard had only seen in history vids.  _What the hell? Geth? They haven't been seen outside the Veil for over 200 years..._ She called out to Alenko, “LT, flanking position! Bottleneck those sierras and cover that marine!”

With the touch of a button a bipod extended out from the undercarriage of her sniper rifle and Shepard steadied her weapon on the boulder she was hidden behind. Another tap on the side of her weapon initiated the armour piercing mod on her ammunition and soon she was sighting down her scope at the lead synthetic. Meanwhile, Alenko had tossed a singularity out to the left flank, blocking the approach from that direction and forcing the enemy troops into a choke point. Taking a slow breath, Shepard began to cycle her weapon as quickly as she could, the old sniper’s mantra of _‘slow is smooth, smooth is fast’_ echoing in her mind. Her first shot tore right through the lead synthetic’s head, dropping it instantly as Alenko dragged the outnumbered marine behind cover and threw up a barrier to protect them. Steadily the Geth soldiers dropped one by one as pinpoint accurate shots found their marks. When they were down to only two Geth remaining, the surviving marine leaned out of cover and dispatched the last two with accurate bursts of automatic fire from her Vindicator battle rifle; riddling them with holes. Shepard scanned the battlefield with her scope quickly then called out. “Clear!” Receiving similar replies from Alenko and his new companion, the Commander stepped out of cover, her rifle cradled in her arm, and walked down to where the other two marines had taken cover. Nodding to them both, she spoke quickly. “Alenko, take point while I have a chat with our new friend here.”

As Alenko swept forward, Ashley came to attention and snapped out a sharp salute, “Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212, ma’am.” Shepard nodded and returned the salute. “Lieutenant Commander Shepard; SSV Normandy. That’s Lieutenant Alenko of the same. Give me a sitrep Chief; I need to know what the hell’s going on here.” Williams quickly filled in the commander, relaying everything that had happened since the dreadnought had first appeared. “My unit did its best to protect the colonists, ma’am, but we were out on patrol and caught away from the main colony. We lost half our number in the first engagement and the rest have been picked off one by one. Those damn mechs are here in force ma’am. I... I think I’m the only one left. The rest of the 212 are either gone or holed up somewhere wounded.” Ashley couldn’t hide the look of dismay and guilt on her face as she finished her report.

Shepard was happy to see that although Williams was tired and a little distraught, the chief was in good form and still wanted to fight. She gave the Chief a quick summary of everything they had run into since they made planet fall and when she was finished, Shepard looked Williams in the eye and asked, "I hope you’re combat ready Chief, I need you on this squad if we’re to take that beacon."

A cold fire kindled in Williams’ eyes, “Happy to lend a hand, ma’am. With your help, those damn toasters are gonna pay for what they did to my squad.” The fiery eyes and steely voice caused Shepard’s normally stony facade to crack for a moment and she smiled dryly at the marine. “Alright then Chief, mount up.” Catching up to Alenko, they set off as a threesome once again. Shepard contacted Nihlus on the radio and updated him on the situation. The Spectre responded quickly, confirming her identification of the synthetics as Geth, and stated he was approaching the tram to the space port. Nihlus instructed Shepard to secure the beacon, while he would head to the port and cut off the departure location, to make sure the Geth didn’t try to take it off world.

Shepard glanced at her new squad, “You heard him, let's get moving. Chief, take us to the beacon.”

Williams nodded, "It's not far from here. The excavation site is just over this next ridge." As they crested the hill, the Chief stopped dead in her tracks; they had reached the dig site, and there was no beacon to be found. “Sorry, ma’am… they must have already prepped it and moved it to the space port. It was still here when I came through not half an hour ago.”

Shepard was not pleased by the development.  _Either the Geth already have it, or the researchers moved it already. Either way we’re still looking…_ The commander growled, “All right people, let’s hustle! We need to catch up to Nihlus at the space port, maybe the damn beacon is there. Double time it!” Progressing much more quickly now, they were almost out into a clearing atop the next hill before they saw the Dragon’s Teeth… tall metal spikes, with bodies impaled on them. They weren’t really bodies anymore… more like a husk with no skin, held together by tubes and muscle. Kaidan’s face went white as he surveyed the scene... no way to help them now. Shepard waved to continue on past the gruesome sight, there was nothing they could do for the poor bastards now; but as they began moving forward again, the closest spikes started to lower, retracting into themselves and disgorging the bodies stuck upon them. That in itself was bad enough… then the husks started moving.

All the husks started moving toward the Alliance marines, first in faltering steps but gradually smoothing out and picking up speed, almost as if they were suddenly relearning how to walk... then run. A pair of soulless metallic eyes focused on Shepard and she swore, "Shit, these things are no longer human! Take 'em out!" The next sixty seconds were chaos. The husks attacked in an animalistic melee, trying to gouge them with hands that more resembled claws and gunfire soon ripped the silence to shreds as the three marines met the enemy head on. In too close to employ her sniper rifle, Shepard went into full survival mode and swung the butt of her weapon at the first husk that closed on her, knocking it away and down. Tearing her Tempest SMG free of its clip at her waist, she levelled it at a second incoming husk and emptied half the magazine into its chest until with a slam she felt another of the horrific cyborgs leap onto her back. It tore at her helmet with its claws and jerked her about with an inhuman strength until she dropped her rifle and reached behind her to grab it by the back of its head and drag it over her shoulder, hip tossing it onto the ground. A swift verbal command into her helmet mic activated her omniblade and she savagely plunged the orange nanoblade that had projected itself out of her armoured forearm into its skull before wrenching the glowing construct out to the side; cutting away a great chunk of the husk’s head. Rising swiftly, she was just in time to meet another husk in mid rush and she slashed at its gut with the glowing omniblade before driving her helmet full force into its face; hearing the thick plexiglass visor crack with the force of the impact. Turning, she emptied the last half of her SMG’s thermal clip into the back of a husk running at Williams’ exposed flank before the last husk leapt at her. Rolling under it, she missed seeing Alenko blast it full force with a warp to the torso; the biotic’s mass effect field tearing it apart before it even hit the ground.

After what seems an eternity of battle, she whirled around, slamming a fresh thermal clip into her SMG and quickly scanning for her next target before she realized there were none. Panting with the sudden exertion, the commander stowed her weapon and knelt to retrieve her rifle, checking it for damage even as she reviewed her hard suit’s HUD data; looking for damage to her Agent armour. The helmet casing had several deep score marks on it where a husk’s claws had gouged at it and her backplate had nearly been punctured where the thing’s taloned feet had ripped at her. With the adrenaline only just wearing off she was now starting to feel the strain in her neck and shoulders where it had wrenched at her head and she was pretty sure she had a cracked rib or two.

Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams watched in awe, finding it hard to believe what she just witnessed... she'd just seen the only survivor of Akuze doing now what she must have done to survive then and quickly realized the rumours and stories she had heard didn't even come close to the real thing. She walked over to Shepard and extended a hand to help Shepard back to her feet, "Damn... ma'am. I've heard the stories, but I've never seen anything like that in all my life!"

Shepard grunted and took the offered hand, rising back to her feet. "It’s not exactly the way I prefer to conduct a fight, but I’ll be damned if some... husk is going to kill me. I've survived worse than these things and I plan on surviving a lot longer. "

Williams looked at her and shook her head, "That’s not what I'm saying, ma'am. The stories about Akuze are almost legend throughout the Corps."

Rejecting the praise, Shepard just grunted and rolled her neck gingerly, "I know what you meant, Chief.” Normally mention of Akuze would have had her back up and seen her snarling, but she was too tired to get angry with Williams. Or maybe she sensed that with the 212 gone, if anyone could understand just a part of what she’d been through on that hellhole, maybe it was the Chief. “Just... don’t mention Akuze around me again, okay? I lost a lot on that pooch screw mission. Place still gives me nightmares.” With that, she fell silent and motioned with her hand for them to start moving again, though her thoughts didn’t still. She hadn’t mentioned the nightmares to anyone but the shrink assigned to her after that fateful mission, though she was pretty sure Anderson knew about them. Why the hell had she told some random marine about them?

As they approached the tram station, they quickly realized it was crawling with Geth. On the high ground with plenty of cover, it was rather easy pickings for Shepard and her sniper rifle, so with Williams providing cover fire from the right flank and Alenko using singularities to force the Geth onto a single approach vector it took no time at all for Shepard’s high velocity rounds to drop the synthetics like holo ducks at a shooting gallery. As they clambered down from the hill and crossed the station to get to the tram, Shepard paused, her eye catching on the inert form of Nihlus... their bad day just got worse.  _What the hell, Nihlus? A Spectre killed by a single gunshot to the back of the head? No helmet?_ There was nothing at all right with that picture. A sound off to the side caught their attention and three guns trained instantly on a figure emerging from behind a stack of crates.   "Hey! Human here! Don't shoot me, please!" After a very brief, but tense, moment, they realized the human was not armed.

Shepard glared at the new arrival, "How the hell did you manage to not get caught by the Geth?"

The guy's face turned red with shame, but the revelation about the synthetics took over his response. "Geth? Those things aren't just mechs? Shit! I thought they were a fairy tale!"

Shepard’s dark eyes narrowed and she squeezed off a shot from her SMG, a crate to the left of the man’s head jolting as it suddenly sprouted a fresh bullet hole. Her voice turned to an ice cold snarl. "Answer the damn question or the next one goes somewhere more painful..."

The guy immediately threw his hands up, "Alright already! Christ! Can't a guy be surprised by the mention of Geth?" Seeing the look from Shepard, he got around to answering. "I... I was on a lunch break, and was back here taking a nap when all the shooting started. I'm not an idiot! I stayed hidden!"

Williams snorted. "Yeah, right. Lunch break? Its 10 AM, you ass! You were saved because you're a lazy piece of shit, sleeping on the job! Can you at least tell us what the hell happened here?"

He told his story; a story of a second turian, called Saren, who was responsible for Nihlus' death. Nihlus had known him, had trusted him and was shot in the back of the head execution style as a reward for that trust. The port worker then told them that Saren, with the beacon, had already taken the tram over to the loading docks.

As soon as she heard those words, Shepard snarled again and started running. "Damn it! Let's move it people! I’ll be damned if we lose this beacon to a bunch of toasters and some rogue turian!"

\---------------------------------------------------------

The first thing they saw when they jumped off the tram at the docks was a demolition charge. Williams did a quick scan that revealed four total bombs, set to go off in just five minutes. She started to defuse the first one, talking at the same time. "Commander, we have to defuse these! The combined yield of all four will be enough to destroy the whole colony... and us along with it!"

Pausing to evaluate the tactical situation, Shepard scanned the area and noted the locations of the devices and the positioning of the Geth troops, as well as their reinforcements further back on the dock itself.  “Alenko, Williams. Defuse the devices as quickly as you can, stick to cover and advance when clear. I’ll provide over watch and take care of these damn toasters.” With that, the Commander activated her tactical cloak and quickly scaled the tallest nearby cargo container. Within seconds she was lying prone atop it, her rifle stabilised on its bipod and fresh thermal clips positioned within easy reach. “Go.”

She watched through her scope as Alenko started up the ramp toward the location of the second bomb and soon the tram station echoed with the report of her high powered rifle, spent thermal clips began to litter the top of the cargo container as she cycled her weapon as quickly as accuracy would allow. Around the station geth began to drop, high velocity rounds punching holes clean through their armoured heads whilst Alenko made it to the second device and began to defuse it. Williams was finished with the first more or less at the same time and moved quickly through the station, staying in cover and passing Alenko along the way. Several times she broke cover to move to the next position only to see the synthetic soldier guarding against her advance buck with the impact of a rifle round and slump forward onto its knees; the light from its central sensor flickering and dying. More Geth were constantly flooding into the area from up on the docking ramp only to run directly into Shepard’s field of fire. She watched through her scope as the Chief made it to the third bomb. “LT, Williams has the third device secured. You’re free to move up. Wait!” she hissed suddenly, and then with another rifle report ringing out a Geth sniper collapsed onto the walkway from a position above the Lieutenant. “You’re clear. Go.”

Alenko dashed out from cover then ran to catch up to Williams, bypassing her when she gave him a stiff nod from where she crouched, hands deep in the bowels of the second to last explosive device.  With the timer beginning to count down to danger close, he ignored nearby cover and instead sprinted for the last device, launching a singularity out at the next group of Geth mounting the docking ramp then heading past them towards the last bomb. Alenko ran up and put a barrier over himself and the last bomb, working to defuse it, while Shepard and Williams finished the fight with the remaining synthetics, taking full advantage of the singularity Alenko had launched; the mass effect field holding the last remaining troops immobile in the air and easy pickings for the commander’s sniper rifle and the chief’s tight, controlled rifle bursts. A few seconds after the last synthetic went dead Alenko stood up and released his barrier, waving across the station to Shepard’s perch. "Done, Commander,” he reported over the comms channel. “We may not have the beacon, but at least the Geth can’t destroy the dock now."

Shepard nodded silently as she dismounted the cargo container and jogged to catch up to her ground team. As an N7, she was trained to do whatever was necessary to get the mission done, and saving the colony wasn't the mission. She knew it was the right thing to do, but recovering the beacon was still the primary objective and had yet to be completed. “We’re almost there but I’m still reading enemy troops on the dock itself. Do an ammo check and salvage anything useful from the remains. Looks like they’re using fairly common weapons so they should be carrying thermals.” She was getting dangerously low on thermal clips herself. Her rifle, though powerful, did generate a lot of thermal output with every round fired so an extended firefight like they’d just endured would chew through her supply of clips. As they took a beat, there came a thunderous roar and the alien dreadnought began to take off. Whatever it had come for, it had, and they watched as the immense battleship lifted into the red skies. Shepard could only hope the Normandy’s stealth systems were enough to keep their ride out of here safe. Williams proved to be a most efficient scavenger and soon their ammo supply was replenished enough to attempt taking the docks. Ordering her squad mates to watch their respective flanks they moved out, working their way down the final ramp to the docks. There were even more Geth at the port and Shepard was amazed... the beacon was still sitting on the docks. Shepard breathed a soft sigh of relief; maybe this op wasn’t going to be a complete fubar after all. "Okay, let's clear the port and call down the Normandy for recovery ops. Williams, you have point, we sweep right to left."

The team went to work, and with all three team members coordinating fire, they managed to clear the last Geth defenders without too much difficulty and secured the beacon. Shepard got on the comm. to Anderson and passed the word they were ready for pick up. As the Normandy started its approach from orbit, the team checked out their prize.

Chief Williams walked around the beacon with a puzzled look on her face, and finally commented on the fact that it was glowing, and that somehow it had been activated since it was moved. "Wasn't doing anything like that when they first dug it up, ma'am. It was just a big chunk of metal, totally inert."

Suddenly, a ribbon of green energy arced out of the beacon and grabbed onto Williams, pulling her toward it. Shepard could see her struggling to get free to no avail and charged in, knocking Ashley out of the pull of the beam. She realized too late that all she had done was change places with the Chief, because she fared no better in her attempt to escape as the beacon lifted her into the air. Suddenly, her body was stretched out in incredible agony, and she felt like she was being drawn and quartered, all while being assaulted by horrible visions of death and destruction being pounded into her head at an ever increasing velocity. As she watched unknown worlds burning, Shepard let loose a primal scream, feeling the fires of a burning world erupt from her throat; the incredible pain sent her quickly spiralling into darkness.


	3. Silence Them...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> D.I. = Drill Instructor  
> ICT = Interplanetary Combatives Training  
> CI = criminal informant  
> XO = Executive Officer  
> knuckle dragger = Alliance slang for deck hand  
> swabbie = Alliance slang for enlisted sailor

Visions of a reality not her own assaulted her senses; synthetics at war, destroying everything in their path, races unfamiliar vanishing from worlds unrecognized. Mass destruction, fire, pain. Screams of agony, in realization that they are watching the extinction of their species, totally unable to comprehend the magnitude of the enemy, even as they began to understand the inevitability of their own annihilation.

\-------------------------------

Shepard's eyes came open quickly as she awoke, her survivor’s instincts racing to assess her situation and she stiffened in readiness to react. As alarms started beeping, Dr Karin Chakwas moved immediately to her side. Erisa heard that familiar crisp British accent, a little more forceful than normal, and sounding a bit stressed. "Commander! Relax! You're back on the Normandy, in the med bay. Take a deep breath and lay back down, please!"

Shepard ignored the doctor’s pleas and sat up, her body physically relaxing a little as she recognized the surroundings of the Normandy’s infirmary, though her mind still raced, trying to process what had happened back on the planet. "What the hell happened, Doc? How'd I get back here?"

From behind her she heard movement and Shepard craned her neck to see Ashley Williams standing there. She looked different out of her Phoenix hard suit and in standard Alliance fatigues, and Erisa almost lost her train of thought as she looked at the marine but Williams filled the silence with an explanation.

“It's my fault, ma'am. I must have triggered some kind of security field when I approached it. You had to push me out of the way.”

Shepard swivelled on the hard med bay bed to face both Chakwas and Williams, one hand reaching up to ease the tension in her neck from where the husk had almost torn her head off.  “Damn right it’s your fault, Chief. That was a bonehead move, we had no idea what that beacon was protected by. You could have been killed.” Her voice had regained its hard, chill edge as she dressed down the marine in front of her.

Doctor Chakwas quickly interceded however, her crisp British accent cool and professional. “Don't be so hard on her Commander. We don't actually know that's what set it off. Unfortunately, we'll never be able to find out either.”

Shepard gave the doctor a look of momentary confusion before the Chief elaborated. “The beacon exploded. A system overload maybe. The blast knocked you cold. The lieutenant and I had to carry you back to the ship.”

Erisa was still angry about pretty much everything that had happened groundside, but it wasn’t fair of her to take it out on Williams so she grunted and swallowed down her simmering ire. “Thank you, Chief.”

Williams nodded, the barest of smiles curling her lips. “Just doing my duty, ma’am.”

Eying the commander critically, Karin spoke gently, "What's the last thing you remember, Commander?"

Shepard sighed then blew out a long slow breath as she focused on her memories, trying to push through the horrific visions that still haunted her mind’s eye. "Trying to keep that bloody beacon from drawing me in is what. It felt like the thing was trying to physically tear me apart from the inside out."

Karin breathed a sigh of relief as she answered, happy that memory loss seemed to not be an issue. "Well, as the Chief said, the beacon exploded. It tossed you a good distance in the process, but you escaped with just a dislocated shoulder, a mild concussion and some scratches and bruises. You also had two fractured ribs on your left side and micro tears in your shoulder and neck muscles, though I’ve been informed they were sustained during hand to hand combat with what the Lieutenant referred to as ‘husks’. You don't remember anything else?"

Shepard noted the tone of that last question and wondered what the doc was hiding. "No, that's all I remember. What are you getting at, Doc? There’s something you’re not telling me.”

Doctor Chakwas sighed, "Well, a minor concussion doesn’t explain the fifteen hours it took for you to wake up, nor the unusual brain activity I was registering for the majority of that time. Physically, it was like you were in a coma... totally nonresponsive to outside stimuli, even though the anaesthesia wore off hours ago, but I noticed a massive increase in rapid eye movement, a reaction usually linked to intense dreaming. It was off the charts. Do you remember dreaming at all?" Karin asked curiously, unable to make sense of the Commander’s symptoms.

Erisa slipped off the medical bed and stood, a little woozy at first, and she was thankful when Chief Williams reached out to steady her. “Whoa, you okay ma’am?”

Shepard nodded and took a deep breath before straightening, though she missed the supporting hands of the Chief as Williams stepped back, concern etched on her weary face. “You gotten any rack time since we’ve been back, Chief? You look like I feel.”

“No, she hasn’t,” said the doctor, her voice disapproving. “The Chief has been hovering until you woke up.”

Shepard gave Williams a questioning look and couldn’t resist a half smile. “You’re still going fifteen hours after a combat mission? Damn Chief, that’s impressive. But I’m awake now and the Doc says I’m fine. Hit the mess hall and get something to eat then grab a rack. That’s an order.”

“Aye aye ma’am.”

Erisa returned the salute and watched as the Chief left the infirmary. When she turned back to the doctor she caught Chakwas eyeing her curiously. “What?”

“I think that’s the most words I’ve ever seen you say to another crewmember when not giving orders, Commander. Most of them were even... nice. Maybe I should double check the scans and see if the concussion isn’t more severe.” Shepard gave the doctor a foul look and Karin smirked. “Ah, now that’s more like it. Now, do you remember dreaming at all?”

Erisa eased herself back until she was leaning against the edge of the medical bed and closed her eyes in contemplation. "Kind of... I was definitely dreaming. Well no, it was more like having a nightmare, but it wasn't. When I got close to the beacon... it...” The Commander lapsed into silence as she did her best to make sense of what had happened to her. “I don't really know, Doc. It's like the beacon was an organic transmitter of some kind, broadcasting a series of images directly into my mind, and it just kept getting faster and faster until I couldn't keep up. That's what made my head want to explode. Then they just kept replaying over and over in my mind. That's what I woke up to. They weren't very pleasant pictures."

The door on the med bay opened and Capt Anderson strode into the room. "How's my XO doing, Doctor?" He glanced quickly between the two, and then focused on Shepard.

Karin gave him a quick rundown on Shepard's physical condition, and then continued, "And, we were just starting to discuss her nightmare, or beacon images, whichever you want to call it." Anderson quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Knowing the Captain was waiting, Erisa explained what she remembered of the visions. "It's all very disjointed. I have no idea what it means, and I didn't recognize any of the places. Since it's a Prothean beacon, I assume the majority of the people I saw were Prothean, but there was more than one race." She paused, “It was definitely a warning of some kind, sir. A distress call, maybe.” Feeling steadier on her feet, she stood up again and looked to the Captain. "If I may ask sir, how's Alenko?"

Anderson smiled in response. "He's fine, Commander, and I know you’ve seen Chief Williams. There was no reason to leave her on Eden Prime now her squad is... gone, and both she and Alenko needed some minor medical treatment, so everyone's on board. Based on Kaidan's mission report and personal recommendation, we're going to keep the Chief on crew. Heard she's good in a fight; a real survivor. Sounds like someone else I know." They both knew what the last comment really meant and Erisa gave her Captain, a man she had known since his squad had rescued her on Mindoir, a brief smile.

"You might be right, sir. She lost her whole squad and still kept going, alone and outmatched. You can’t teach that kind of spirit.” She fell silent a moment, thoughts drifting back to the nightmare on Akuze. “I should know.” Anderson let the moment pass unremarked, he knew his XO carried the weight of the dead with her and sometimes she needed a moment to adjust her grip. It didn’t take more than a few seconds and the commander was talking again. “Though with the complete loss of the 212 I'm sure someone's going to want to talk to her before they complete transfer paperwork to the Normandy. Given what I saw of her skills I’m surprised she doesn’t have an N rating, sir. Williams should at least be an N4 by now."

Anderson's eyebrows rose at her last comment, but he didn't address it. It was obvious he wanted Williams for the Normandy mission, at least for the short term. "Don't you worry about that, Commander. Dr Chakwas did an initial evaluation, and Williams' transfer paperwork is already waiting for Admiral Hackett's signature at Arcturus. We should be arriving at the Citadel at very shortly. The Council is going to demand a full accounting. Geth attacking Eden Prime, a Council Spectre dead, and the beacon we were sent to recover completely destroyed.   Not exactly a textbook operation by any standard. They want answers, and Saren isn't an easy scapegoat. He's also a Spectre."

Shepard's face darkened angrily, somewhat resembling a brooding thundercloud, and her voice got that icy chill to it that only happened when she was furious about something. "You've got to be kidding me... Saren's a Spectre? Well that’s us well and truly screwed then, isn’t it! Our word against that of a god damned Spectre. It won’t take the Council five minutes to turn around and lay this entire fubar of an op on us.” She began stalking the length of the med bay like some caged animal, dark eyes burning. “And we've verified it really was Geth? Geth out beyond the Veil and working for a traitorous bloody Spectre!” The angrier she got, the thicker her south African accent got. “Intel really screwed the pooch on this one, sir. This entire mission was a clusterfuck before we even got boots on the ground."

"Take it easy, Commander. No one said anything about them laying this on you. They just need to know what happened. I've had run-ins with Saren before, and he's the Council's golden boy. And no matter who we're talking about, they aren't going to take the word of a smuggler against a Council Spectre, especially since you never actually saw Saren to confirm any part of the story... and the Geth haven't been seen in centuries... no way intel could have predicted that one unless they had a damn crystal ball. Now, get yourself cleaned up and get some food, we've got an appointment with Ambassador Udina."

Shepard huffed angrily, still pacing like a confined panther. "Sir, before you go... I’m going to recommend Corporal Jenkins for a posthumous commendation. He was a good soldier and the Lieutenant wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the Corporal’s actions."

"I know, Commander. Lieutenant Alenko said the same thing. Write up your recommendation and leave it on my desk; I’ll make sure the commendation is approved. His family may never be told exactly how or why he died but at least we can give them the comfort of knowing he died saving lives. I've already taken care of next of kin notifications.” Anderson gave Erisa a paternal smile of reassurance. “I know how many of those letters you’ve already written in your career. Jenkins was on the ground team by my assignation, not yours. The responsibility for his death is mine to bear. Your load is heavy enough.”

Shepard’s anger dissipated at the fatherly smile and she returned it with a sad smile of her own. “You might have assigned him to the team, sir, but I’m the one who led it. After Akuze, what’s one more soul to bear?” She shrugged resignedly. “He was from Eden Prime if I remember right; the relief forces will get his remains to his family."

Anderson turned to Dr Chakwas, "Keep me updated on her mission readiness, Doctor. I'm hoping the Citadel is just a short stop before she's back out on the job."

\-------------------------------

After getting in a shower and into a clean uniform, Shepard walked into the mess hall to see Alenko and Williams sitting together at a table. Heading to the automat to grab some chow, she made the best of military food and grabbed a cup of strong black coffee; navy style and what looked like mac and cheese before finding a spot at a table alone and dug in with gusto. It might only be navy food but after a heavy combat op and a fifteen hour nightmare she was famished. After only a few minutes a shadow appeared beside her and without looking up from her meal, she took a mouthful of coffee then asked. “Yes, Chief? Something I can help you with?”

Ashley double blinked and hesitated a moment before her unasked question was answered by Shepard. “I could smell the mix of navy issue shampoo and gun oil. It’s quite distinct and I remember it from the infirmary. Also, you favour your left foot when you walk; the sound of your boot treads was uneven on the deck plates.” Erisa looked up from her meal and couldn’t resist the slightest of smiles. “But mainly I knew it was you because the rest of the Normandy crew know I prefer to eat undisturbed.” She watched with a small degree of amusement as Williams realised she was being teased before she used her foot to push out the chair across from her. “Take a seat Chief. You’ve obviously got something you want to say.” Shepard continued to eat with an almost mechanical rhythm and her dark eyes watched as Williams slipped into the seat across from her.

Ashley glanced at the commander with a guilty look on her face. "I just wanted to apologise again, ma'am. For what happened with beacon. And to thank you for giving me the chance to get some payback." Shepard watched silently, eating as she listened to the Chief’s apology. She took great care never to get too close to anyone under her, to always maintain a cool, professional distance. Never joining in with the crew or the marines in any form of entertainment or celebration but instead watching from the sidelines. Oh, she knew her reputation took a hit for it, she wasn’t blind or deaf to the way the crew reacted around her, or to the names she heard herself called through scuttlebutt. But it was just the way things had to be, it was safer for everyone that way. Well, safer for her. Which is why it was so confusing that she found herself wanting to talk to the Chief. Maybe it was that in losing the 212 they had something in common; something few others shared.

Swallowing her last mouthful of mac and cheese, Erisa picked up her coffee cup and sipped from it as she watched Williams, finally speaking. “No apology necessary, Williams. In fact, I think I’m the one who owes you an apology.” That admission surprised Ashley and it showed on her face, if only for a moment. “I shouldn’t have ridden you for getting too close to the beacon. What happened was going to happen anyway, it doesn’t matter if it was you or one of the Normandy’s knuckle draggers when the first one got close enough to it during loading. We were sent to secure the beacon; we did and we couldn’t have done it without your help.” She looked about the mess hall at the mingle of sailors and marines packing in one of their three squares or just enjoying some downtime off duty with a cup of coffee and smirked ever so slightly. “Not that it’s likely to come up again, but when we’re off duty and it’s just us you can call me Shepard. After what we went through down on Eden Prime you’ve earned that much.”

The Chief gave her a quick nod, unused to superior officers admitting their faults in front of her. "Ahhhh... yes, ma'am. You’re welcome, I guess? Sorry. Might take me a while to get used to that. You can just call me Ash. And thanks... for helping me take back Eden Prime from those metal bastards. I still can't believe it... my whole damn squad just... Shit! Sorry." Ashley looked down at the table, blinking back tears she didn't want the commander to see.

Quite uncharacteristically, Shepard reached out a gloved hand and touched one of Ashley’s hands reassuringly. “Hey,” she said softly, "Don’t forget who you’re talking to here, Chief. I think if anyone on this boat can understand what you’re feeling right now it’s me. I lost the whole of the 323rd on Akuze. I know what it’s like, watching friends and comrades die and feeling like you didn’t do enough. So if you ever want to talk about it, I’m here okay?” Catching a questioning glint in the chief’s brown eyes, Shepard gave a dry smirk; the expression twisting into more of a sneer thanks to the dark, jagged scar that ran down her left cheek. “Okay, so I told you not to mention Akuze, doesn’t mean I can’t bring it up if I want. Besides, we’re not done avenging the 212 yet. That’s ultimately on Saren and whether the Council likes it or not, I’m going to bring that turian bastard down. I could use a good soldier like you at my side when I do.” The commander's voice faded out as she watched Ashley's reaction.

Ashley's head came back up and she met Shepard's eyes with a fierce gaze as she answered. "You bet ma’am. It’s just... well; it’s only really starting to sink in now that they’re gone. I guess as the only one left I’ve got a lot of letters to write...” The realisation of that fact hit the marine with a fresh wave of grief, the weight of that responsibility clearing showing in her face and Erisa felt for her. “If you want, I can give you a hand with that, Chief...” she offered quietly, willing to do so despite the old memories writing such letters always dredged up.

“No, ma'am. I'm on that one. I knew them all, knew their families. It's on me to take care of them, best I know how... but thanks for the offer. I..." She paused for just a moment. "Never mind, you know."

"All too well, Ash, all too well. Anyway, get some rack time. We're headed to the Citadel to meet with the Council, and Anderson says it's not going to be pretty. Dress blues and your best behaviour. I don’t want to give the Council anymore ammunition to throw at our claims than they’ve already got; which is a lot.” Checking the chrono on her omnitool, Shepard stood and collected her dishes. “I've still got a mission report to write up before we make port, and I wouldn’t mind a few hours sleep without nightmares. Pass on the message for blues and good behaviour to the LT then find a bunk; I’ll need the both of you sharp in case we get questioned." Shepard deposited her dishes in the cleaning bin and left for the XO’s quarters.

Ash traipsed back to the table she’d shared with the lieutenant and looked at Kaidan with puzzlement on her face. "Is she always like that?  So up close and personal with her crew, that is?"

Kaidan watched the commander as she left the mess hall, and then finally looked back at the chief with very curious eyes as he answered her question, his head shaking a long, drawn out no. "As long as I've known her _that_ has never happened. I mean, I’ve never heard a bad word from anyone she's ever worked with but she does have a reputation amongst most of the crew as being... well,  hard and somewhat cold. Scuttlebutt has it the swabbies below decks call her the Ice Queen. Doc Chakwas has great things to say about her, professionally that is, but then the doc and the Captain are the only two people on the ship who really know her at all. Personally, I think Shepard keeps her distance from everyone on purpose. Puts up walls so it’s hard to get to know her. Rank and protocol are just two more fences to keep everyone out. I mean, Mindoir, then Akuze? That’d make anyone reluctant to have friends. She seems to have taken a liking to you though. Other than her military record and the very rare conversation, like the one it seems you just had, I don't know much about her at all." Lifting his coffee to his lips, Kaidan paused halfway to deliver one last observation with a cocked eyebrow. “If you ask me though, I’m glad she’s on our side. She’s one hell of a marine.”

A look of awe mixed with empathy passed over the chief's face. "She’s from Mindoir? I thought that colony was wiped out by the Batarians.”

Kaidan just nodded. “It was. Whoever wasn’t killed in the first attack was captured by the slave ships. Story goes the commander only made it out because she was in the outer fields when the attack came. She spent nearly a week on the run, out in the wild, until the Alliance managed to break the planetary blockade and get troops planetside. She was the only one they could rescue. Rumour has it the Captain was on the squad that found her.”

“Damn,” Ashley whispered. “I mean, I knew she was the sole survivor of Akuze; that story is almost a legend in the Corps but the mission details are so highly classified no one has a damn clue what really happened. At this point all we’re doing is telling ghost stories about her and the 323,ya know? But knowing who she is and seeing her in action are two different things... the way she met those husks head on? I’ve never seen that kind of, of... savagery before, fighting tooth and nail. But Mindoir too?"

Neither Kaidan nor Ashley realized that Dr Chakwas had strolled up with a cup of tea. "Don't let her hear you gossiping on like that. She'll have the both of you scrubbing latrines, garbage chutes and bulkheads for weeks. You're right, Kaidan, she is very private. Given what that remarkable young woman has endured so far in her life, I think both of you should respect that. She has lost more than most can comprehend. Respecting her right to bear her burdens as she chooses with earn you her respect in return." Both marines looked like kids caught smoking behind the bike sheds, and Karin chuckled as she returned to her office to finish up her medical reports.

\-------------------------------

Five minutes out from the Citadel relay, Shepard left her cabin and walked up to the bridge, looking forward to the view they’d get of the mammoth space station as they exited the relay and flew down into the Nebula that surrounded the centre of galactic government. No matter how many times she'd seen it, it was always impressive and as they left the relay’s transit corridor and began the long spiral down into the nebula’s heart she smiled faintly to herself as she glimpsed the immense metal arms of the Citadel, piercing the pink and purple gas clouds surrounding it.  It always reminded her of a passage from one of Whitman’s poems.

_'‘A noiseless patient spider,_

_I marked where on a promontory it stood isolated,_

_Marked how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,_

_It launched forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,_

_Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.’_

To think it was still a functioning piece of technology left over from the Prothean Empire fifty thousand years ago was daunting, to say the least.  Joker was just beginning to plot their descent vector when she approached, standing behind the pilot’s chair silently.

"Good timing Commander. I was just about to bring us into the Citadel. See that taxpayer money at work.”

Feeling unusually talkative, Shepard leant against the headrest behind the pilot and smiled. “The hell with the money, Moreau, I just like the view.” Unseen by the commander, Joker looked over to Alenko in the co-pilot’s chair with a quizzical expression. It wasn’t like the commander to speak unless she actually had something to say.

As the Normandy sailed silently through the clouds of gas surrounding the Citadel, Chief Williams joined them on the bridge, staring out at the monolithic station in awe until one of the nearby ships caught her gaze and she gasped in amazement. “Look at the size of that ship!”

Kaidan smiled and filled her in. “That’s the Destiny Ascension, an Asari dreadnought and the flagship of the Citadel fleet. Ten thousand crew, if you can believe it.”

“Well, size isn't everything,” muttered Joker.

Williams grinned and looked over at their contentious pilot. “Why so touchy, Joker? Surely you don’t have any... anxiety issues.”

Joker snorted. “I'm just saying you need firepower, too.”

“Yeah, but look at that monster! The main gun could rip through the barrier of any ship in the Alliance fleet!” Joker harrumphed. “Okay, now you’re just hurting my feelings, Chief.”

Kaidan smiled as he transmitted alliance docking codes to the Citadel control tower. “Good thing it's on our side, then.”

Silent until now, Shepard stood back from the pilot’s chair and took command of the space. “Okay, that’s enough sightseeing ladies and gentlemen. Moreau, bring us in to dock and alert the Captain. LT, Chief, dress blues and sidearms only. Meet me in the airlock in five.” Once they’d all acknowledged her orders, she strode off of the bridge, her footsteps echoing on the deck plates as she returned to her quarters to get ready.

\-------------------------------

Shepard suppressed a dry smile as the small group of Normandy crew walked into Udina's office. Not because she was at all happy to see humanity’s Ambassador to the Council, but because when they entered, he was in a particularly heated discussion, his arms flailing, and it was abundantly clear he was getting nowhere with the Council. Unfortunately it was exactly what she’d expected would happen when their mission reports were presented to the Council as an explanation for the clusterfuck that had been the Eden Prime mission.  _God_ _I hate politicians,_ Erisa thought to herself.

As the call ended, Udina turned to Anderson. "Bunch of self-absorbed jack asses. They refuse to believe one of their Spectres could have anything to do with this. They won't suspend Saren’s Spectre status, but at least they are willing to hear us out." He paused in his tirade and took in the whole scene before him. "Did you really feel the need to bring half your crew with you for this meeting?

Anderson calmly replied, "Only those who were on the ground at Eden Prime, Ambassador... just in case you had any questions you needed clarifying."

Udina sneered, "I’ve read the mission reports. I assumed they were accurate.  Besides, I think they've done quite enough to call our chances at a human Spectre into question... but if you insist. Our meeting with the Council is in two hours, Shepard. Be there then and not one second later. I assume you know how to read a chrono? Dismissed." Shepard’s jaw clenched at being discharged so indifferently by the Ambassador but a warning cough from Anderson made her check herself and she forced her muscles to relax. She double checked with her Captain, who nodded and pointed to the door with a quick movement of his head while giving her the 'Yes, I know he's an asshole' eye roll. Shepard turned smartly, and catching Alenko and Williams' attention, they stepped back out into the hall.

"Well, that went well!" Shepard muttered darkly. "Guess he’s not used to being chewed out by the Council like that. Still, at least he got us an audience. We’ve got two hours downtime to kill, I don’t know about you two but I could use a drink." Not that it would do to show up to an audience with the Council inebriated, but one drink wouldn’t hurt.

They had barely gotten outside, when they heard a voice call out Ashley's name. The three turned to the sound of the voice, and Ashley turned extremely pale, and whispered, "Samesh?"

Noting Ashley's reaction, Shepard dropped her hand quietly to the Carnifex heavy pistol she carried as sidearm when in dress blues and continued to watch the interaction unfold. She highly doubted a single man, who looked and acted for the entire world like a civilian, would try anything violent in the well policed Presidium. She also knew for a fact that even if he was more than he seemed, he was no match for the three highly trained marines, despite the disadvantage of being without their hard suits and only carrying basic sidearms.  Her voice was cool and her icy demeanour made her quite daunting despite her slim, angular build. Staring him down, she demanded, "Who are you and how do you know the Chief?"

Ashley quickly interjected, "No, Commander, it's OK. I know him... I served with his wife on Eden Prime. She... Nirali Bhatia, was part of the 212..."

Shepard blinked and stood down, the frosty gaze of her eyes immediately thawing in understanding. "You have my condolences, Mister Bhatia. The 212 fought heroically to protect the civilians on Eden Prime. They deserve the highest honours the Alliance can accord them. I'm sorry for your loss." She then quickly stepped back so the two could talk. Most of the bodies from Eden Prime had been brought to the Citadel, but for some reason, Nirali's body was not being released, and they wouldn't tell Samesh why. Ashley gave the commander a searching look and Shepard nodded at the implied request for help. She wasn’t the type who randomly helped out strangers, but his situation was one she understood, and empathised with. "Mr Bhatia, do you know who is refusing to release your wife’s body?"

Samesh, tears barely contained in grief stricken eyes, looked at her. "Please, Commander, I need to bury her. I need to bury my wife. The man's name is Bosker; he’s a clerk from the Alliance’s R&D division. He's in the Embassy Lounge right now, a table just across from the main door. He's dressed in a purple suit."

Erisa looked at Kaidan. "LT, you're here. Do not leave Mr Bhatia alone. Ash, you're with me." Commander Shepard turned sharply and headed straight to the lounge with a forceful stride, making a beeline to the man in purple. After Mindoir, and again in the aftermath of Akuze, she’d been forced to deal with people like this; bureaucrats mindlessly doing their jobs without thought for the grief and agony they inadvertently caused. "Clerk Bosker? We need to talk. Now."

"I'm extremely busy right now, so if this isn't an emergency, please call my office and make an appointment," he said officiously, not even bothering to look up from his datapad.

Shepard didn’t even bother replying to his dismissive tone and instead verbally keyed in a simple command on her omnitool, directing a low powered overload at his datapad, frying the device’s electronics and rendering it useless. Bosker's head snapped up, outrage in his eyes, but before he could raise a protest, Shepard stepped in close and gripped him by the collar then in a low voice that could have come right off an arctic tundra, she addressed him again. "Perhaps you didn’t hear me, Mister Bosker. We are going to talk _now_. I'm Commander Erisa Shepard and my associate here is Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, Alliance Marines, and we didn't fly halfway across the galaxy from Eden Prime to waste anyone's time."

Bosker's eyes widened at her name and he stopped trying to squirm out of her grip. "C-Commander Sh-Shepard? Yes, of course. What can I do for you, ma'am?"

After a brief discussion about unique Geth weapons signatures needing to be studied, and the needs of research and development, it seemed Bosker was no closer to releasing the body to a grieving husband. Bosker finally stated flat out, "Commander, we need that body to develop better defences against Geth technology." Shepard’s patience for petty minded bureaucrats had never been what you’d call abundant to begin with, and after her brusque treatment at Udina’s hands earlier, she had absolutely zero time for their particular brand of bullshit now.

With wintry eyes and a steely voice that spoke volumes as to how little she cared about Bosker’s physical wellbeing, she delivered her terms. "Let me make myself perfectly clear, Mr Bosker. We’ve just come from Eden Prime; where we personally left at least a platoon of Geth and all their weapons scattered all over the ground, from one end of that colony to the other. There is _more_ than enough material for the R &D labs to work with.” Still holding him tightly by the front of his shirt, she looked him up and down with utter disdain. “You’ve clearly never had anybody die beside you on a battlefield so you obviously lack a fundamental understanding of what that kind of loss is like.” Looking him straight in the eyes now, so focused he could almost see his own death reflected in them, she gave an ice cold smile that said more than words could. “You _will_ release the body of PFC Nirali Bhatia to her husband by the end of day or I will personally educate you in what loss really is. Are we copacetic, Mister Bosker?”

Bosker was suddenly trembling and sweating profusely. "Y-yes, ma'am. I... I need to m-make some c-calls, immediately!"

Shepard stepped back. "By all means then, make them, Mister Bosker.  I assure you, you do not want to have this conversation again. If, by some tragic circumstance that has to happen, then things will become far less... amicable than they have been so far.”

She quickly turned and walked out of the lounge. Ashley quickly followed two steps behind, thinking of how the Shepard who talked with her sympathetically at lunch about losing her own squad was so much in contrast to the cold blooded, steel eyed Commander Shepard she just saw with Bosker. She prayed THAT Commander Shepard never had any reason, ever, to be mad at her! Combined with the savagery and precision she had seen on Eden Prime, that woman now scared the shit out of Gunnery Chief Williams, and that generally wasn't an easy thing to accomplish.

When they got back outside, Shepard waited until the door hissed shut behind them then paced back and forth, shaking her hands out and taking slow, deep breaths to calm herself. Turning to Ashley she shook her head ruefully. “I really shouldn’t have done that but the sonovabitch deserved it.” Eyeing the other woman critically, Shepard gave a ghost of a smile. “I’m starting to think you’re a bad influence on me, Chief. Helping random strangers isn’t exactly my usual M.O.”  Ashley looked shocked for a moment and a little forlorn, but the commander lightly touched the marine’s shoulder with her gloved hand. “I’m teasing, Ash. A little, I think. You needed me and I wanted to help. Just... don’t make a habit out of it. I have a reputation to maintain, after all. The ‘Ice Queen’ can’t suddenly go soft.” She grinned as Ash flushed a little. “I’m not deaf Chief, I know what the crew call me and it’s not something I’m looking to discourage. My reputation as a hard ass is well earned and I’d rather they remember it than start to get too friendly. I’m their X.O. not their buddy.” Williams nodded, making a mental note not to forget what she’d just seen. Shepard made her marine corps D.I. look like a teddy bear in comparison when it came to hard assery. She was a little disappointed though, she was starting to like Shepard and the idea she might never be friends with the commander hurt a little, especially after the few intimate glimpses Shepard had given her of her past.

In the brief silence she noticed the commander looking at her funny, but the moment passed and Shepard was all business again. “Okay chief, officially that conversation never happened. If Bosker feels like laying a complaint, let him. My disciplinary file’s already what you’d call sizable and frankly, I don’t give two shits. It’s your career we need to protect. Though why you’re still a grunt marine I don’t know. Any C.O. worth his salt would have signed you up for ICT years ago. We clear on this?” Ashley didn't say a word, just vigorously nodded her head yes. If Shepard didn’t know about the Williams’ family curse, she wasn’t about to explain it. Some things were best left unsaid. "Good. Now, let's go talk to Samesh."

As they walked back to where they’d left Mr Bhatia and the lieutenant, Shepard found herself wondering just why she was so open with the chief. After the hellscape of Akuze she had done her best to discourage any kind of friendships amongst the crews she’d served with. It was a defence mechanism, meant to keep others out so she’d never again experience the kind of loss she’d felt when the 323rd had all died, but when it came to Ashley she found herself slowly letting her walls down. Quite why she didn’t understand yet. When they got back to Samesh, they found him and Kaidan sitting on a bench. Shepard knelt down so she could look him square in the eye to inform him he would be getting his wife's body back before the end of the day. She reached across to his omnitool and punched some data in. "That's my personal number. One way or another, you call me before the end of today and let me know what happens, OK? If they don’t release Nirali to you by then, I’ll make it my personal mission to see you get her back."

Samesh looked at her with tears in his eyes. "Thank you, Commander. I never expected to get help like this from a complete stranger. I am honoured that you would take the time to assist me." Shepard gave the grieving widower a gentle smile. “The 212 were marines Mr Bhatia; that makes us family, not strangers.” Standing up, she signalled Kaidan to give Samesh and Ashley some privacy. “Take all the time you need, Chief.” Ashley nodded, grateful, and watched as they walked a short distance off to the side before she and Samesh consoled each other in their loss.

After taking her time with Samesh, Ashley rejoined Kaidan and the commander. Since they still had over an hour to kill, Shepard decided it was time to hit a bar and finally get that drink. She was still confused about her feelings towards Ashley. Normally by now she’d be pushing the other woman away, hiding behind her armour but she found herself unwilling to do so with the chief.  It felt surprisingly good to have someone to talk to again, and she had to admit the brunette was almost distractingly attractive. But that wasn't the only thing bothering her. Ever since she’d been a kid Erisa had had a good instinct for danger; and ever since the Batarians had raided her home on Mindoir it was something that had only gotten keener. Her survival instincts were honed razor sharp by years as a marine and after Akuze she had learnt to trust them implicitly, even over and above whatever her eyes and ears told her. Right now they were fair screaming at her that something was wrong, the fine hairs on the back of her neck were raised and she could almost feel eyes watching her every move. Without her hard suit and armed only with a pistol she felt extremely vulnerable but she just couldn’t quite pinpoint what was wrong. Wanting to stay out of the close quarters press of the crowd in the wards and away from the obvious sight lines a sniper would employ, Shepard directed them down a back alleyway. As they rounded the last corner before the dingy bar, Chora's Den, three mercenaries popped out of hiding.

Shepard was already on edge, so as soon as she saw the first assault rifle coming up, she drew her pistol and activated her kinetic barrier, diving for cover behind a low wall that bordered a drop deep into the Citadel’s airspace. Without hesitation, Ashley's own weapon was in hand, barrier up, and Kaidan was throwing a singularity out over the merc closest to them. Suppressing fire barked out at them and forced the three into cover, limiting their response to blind firing with their own heavy pistols over the walkway’s low wall. Shepard got the attention of her impromptu fire team and tapped the top of her head, indicating they should cover her, and then moved to the end of the wall where it opened onto a walkway that connected their side of the drop to the mercenaries. Looking back, she nodded and watched as both Alenko and Williams popped out of cover and lay down a barrage of heavy pistol fire; drawing the attention of the mercs. The air around the commander shimmered briefly as her tactical cloak bent and warped the light around her and she kept low, running across the exposed walkway on silent feet; trusting the cloak to do its job and keep her undetected. Making it to the other side, she pressed her back to the pillar she was now taking cover behind. She peered out around the corner and spotted the remaining two assassins, their focus firmly fixed on the two marines across from them. Good, she thought, this should be easy. Stepping out of cover, she dropped to one knee and snapped out two quick and lethally precise shots from her Carnifex in the time it took to blink. The first round impacted the nearest mercenary, a Turian in light armour, right in the side of the head and a spray of blue blood and gore splashing the wall he crouched behind as the bullet killed him instantly. Her second shot tore into the second assassin’s shoulder, a ribbon of bright red blood sparkling in the light like a stream of rubies before he screamed and fell back, the limp arm now unable to support the weight of his assault rifle. With the immediate threat neutralised, Kaidan stood and double tapped the last remaining merc in the head and chest before cancelling his singularity and letting the body crash back onto the polished steel deck plates.  Ashley circled around the walkway to support Shepard from the rear, pistol at the ready and eyes scanning the area for further threats. Finding none, she moved to cover the commander.  Ash trained her sights on the wounded man and said, "I've got him, Commander. Do whatever you need to do."

Shepard had dropped her tactical cloak and pulled up her kinetic barrier again as she walked towards the injured man, her Carnifex aimed at his head with an unwavering focus. "Who sent you?" she asked, her voice a growl.

The merc tried to laugh, but could only cough and spit a stream of bloody phlegm out over the deck where he lay. "Like I'm... gonna tell you... that. I do and I'm dead."

Shepard crouched down beside him, careful not to step into Ashley’s line of fire. Peering closer, she examined the wound in his shoulder before smiling at him coldly. "No. Looks like the round shattered your collarbone and nicked the subclavian artery. If you don’t talk you’ll bleed out in about... three minutes. Talk and I get you to the med centre, then a nice cosy cell at C-Sec.”

The merc’s face paled, then his lip stiffened as he found the last of his resolve. "You won't let me bleed out, you’re Alliance. One of the good guys."

Shepard sniffed with disdain and ground the barrel of her heavy pistol into the shoulder wound, eliciting a loud moan of agony from the wounded man. She then pressed the bloody, large bore barrel to his forehead. "You sure about that?  I could just pull the trigger now. Or you can roll the dice and take your chances. If you’re lucky, word might not make it back to your employer for a while. I could put in a good word for you with C-Sec. Maybe claim you’re a C.I. who was wounded during an op. You might even make it out of the hospital before they come for you.” She watched his eyes as her words sank in and she dangled a medigel pad in front of him with her free hand. “You don’t even have to give me a name, just confirmation. I’m pretty sure Saren’s behind this little tête-à-tête... the real question is, why does he want me dead?”

 “Fuck you, bitch. I’ll take my chances in Hell." He moved suddenly, trying to draw a pistol from behind his back where he’d been inching towards it during Shepard’s questioning, but he barely moved more than an inch before the commander squeezed the trigger on her Carnifex; splashing brain and blood over the wall behind the now dead mercenary. “Wrong move,” she said simply, her voice devoid of all feeling. Standing, she holstered her weapon and pulled out a handkerchief, wiping the bloody blowback off of her face and out of her hair. Kaidan looked at her with a question. “What now, Commander?”

“Now? We inform C-Sec, get cleaned up and get to the Council meeting before we’re late.” She looked back to the dead bodies on the walkway and sniffed. “If it was Saren behind this, he’ll send more men soon. Maybe one of them will be a little smarter.”

Her cold, matter-of-fact manner chilled Kaidan and Ashley to the bone as she walked past them, already on her omnitool to the authorities.


	4. Getting to the Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CQB = Close Quarters Battle  
> 'nywana ya mmao' = 'your mother's ****'

After the assassination attempt Shepard wasn’t going to risk the safety of her team again. From now on whenever they left the safety of the Normandy they’d wear their full hard suits and carry their standard array of weapons and equipment. They might draw more than a few strange looks, walking around the usually safe and secure Presidium and the lower Wards in full armour, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that Saren had eyes everywhere and had already learnt that Shepard and her team had at least discovered the beacon intact. She wasn’t about to give the bastard a second shot at eliminating them before they could prove he’d turned on the Council. It took a little longer to get to the Council Tower than they’d expected, having to return to the ship and kit up, and when they arrived the audience was already underway. Not that it mattered much for the Council audience proved to be a complete waste of time. Captain Anderson had hit the nail on the head when he said they wouldn't take the word of a smuggler over that of one of their Council Spectres. Saren was actually present at the hearing via hologram, dripping with sarcasm, deriding Shepard as a screw up, and questioning why he needed to defend himself against nothing more than the nightmares of an incompetent Alliance officer. Shepard bore his insults and barbs without reacting, her inherent self discipline seeing her remain calm and unfazed. Only at the end of the audience did she speak, addressing not the Council but the immense hologram of Saren. “You won’t be able to hide behind your Spectre status forever, Saren, so consider this your warning. I’m coming for you and I _will_ find you.” Her voice had been soft, but filled with a steely resolve that caused even the Spectre to hesitate and he terminated the connection rather than reply to her.

After the hearing, Udina was livid, not only because of the results of the Council audience, but also from the political blowback from Shepard's open gunfight in the wards. Shepard had responded with a thinly veiled sneer of disgust. “Next time then Ambassador; I’ll let them finish the job. After all, I really shouldn’t let a small thing like defending my team impede your rise to power.” That had earned her a stern look of disapproval from Anderson and she’d immediately regretted it; the Captain had been the closest thing she’d had to a father since Mindoir and she hated disappointing him. Still, it had felt good to puncture Udina’s sense of self importance.

The only thing positive to come from the visit to the Council was a conversation they’d overheard on the way into the Council chambers, between C-Sec’s Executor and a turian Citadel Security officer, Garrus Vakarian. Garrus had been adamant about needing more time for his investigation into Saren, but the Executor had firmly refused, saying the audience was occurring as they spoke, and there was no delaying it. Shepard’s instincts told her it was more likely Saren had used his position to influence the Executor’s decision and Anderson agreed. The C-Sec officer was likely a good lead, and Anderson had an idea on how to find him; they needed to go talk to a suspended C-Sec officer by the name of Harkin... normally found at Chora's Den.

Anderson also recommended Shepard talk to a financial expert named Barla Von... he was an agent for the Shadow Broker, the top information broker in the galaxy. The information might be expensive, but with a disgraced C-Sec officer as their only other lead, they didn't have a hell of a lot to go on. Ever the tactician, the commander took a beat to think her way through their options as the meeting broke up and she drew the other two marines into a huddle to discuss their next step. They needed intel, badly, so their first stop would be the information broker. She didn’t want to venture back into the rabbit warren of the Wards until she had a clearer picture of just how extensive Saren’s own network of spies and agents was. The next attack, if it came, wouldn’t be as clumsy or blatant as the first and if they knew what resources Saren had at his disposal, the better they could plan their countermeasures. Chora’s Den could wait.

Unfortunately Barla Von didn't really have much in the way of information on Saren, other than to say he and the Broker had had a falling out, but he did have some actionable intel. He pointed Shepard to a Krogan bounty hunter, named Urdnot Wrex, currently on a not so voluntary trip to C-Sec. On the way out of the financial district, Shepard was approached by an Asari maiden, saying she had a very important message from the Consort Sha'ira. Shepard’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, a hand dropping to hover near the Tempest at her waist. "What does the Consort want, if I may ask? I've got a schedule of my own to keep and I’m not waiting six months for an audience." The acolyte agreed that the waiting period was often even longer for new ‘guests’, but assured Shepard the Consort wished to see her immediately, as she had a task for which Shepard was uniquely qualified to handle. The commander mulled it over but ultimately decided if this Urdnot Wrex was a 'guest' of C-Sec then he probably wasn't going anywhere fast and they might as well investigate what the Consort could possibly want from an Alliance officer. Besides, if the Consort was truly as well informed as it was rumoured, then Sha’ira may well know more about Saren, and another lead would be welcome. Letting the Asari lead the way, she whispered softly to her companions. “Eyes open people. If this is another trap I want to see it coming before we walk into it.” Her instincts told her the offer was good, but there was no harm in taking precautions.

As the acolyte promised, Shepard and her team were ushered immediately into the Consort's chambers, not quite sure what to expect.

“That is close enough, Commander.” The rich, sultry voice came from another Asari who turned from an old fashioned dressing table to face the small group of marines that had entered her chambers. “I've heard a great many things about you since your arrival here on our Citadel.” Standing, the stunning alien woman moved towards Shepard, her hips swaying as she slinked closer.

Erisa ignored the obvious seductive cues and crossed her arms over her chest, focusing instead on the Consort’s words. “I'd take half if it with a grain of salt, if I were you. You wanted to speak with me?”

Sha’ira paused and took a moment to assess the commander, noting her body language and the tone of her voice, before smoothly changing her approach and becoming more businesslike, her voice losing some of its sultriness. “Mmm, yes. I have a certain problem that could use your expertise.”

Shepard shrugged nonchalantly, masking her impatience. “We all have our problems, Consort. So far I'm not hearing why exactly it is I'm supposed to care about yours.”

“I'm very well connected, Commander. Were you to aid me in my small dilemma, my friendship may prove useful to you in the future.” The Asari had abandoned all traces of a more persuasive nature now, it didn’t take her years of experience to see the human commander wouldn’t be swayed by a pretty face and fluttering eyelashes.

“Okay, you've got my attention.”

Sha’ira nodded in appreciation. “I have a friend. Septimus, a retired turian general. I won't discuss the details but he wanted me to be more than I could be. We had a falling out. Now he spends his days in Chora's Den drinking and spreading lies about me. If you would speak to him as a fellow soldier, I believe he will listen to you and let the matter be.”

Shepard’s eyes narrowed as she considered the implications of what she was being told. “What happened between you?”

“I respect his privacy too much to go into details,” the Consort said, deflecting the question with practiced ease. “If he wishes to tell you what happened, that is his perogative.”

“Yeah, that's not going to work for me.” Erisa gave a tight smile and shook her head gently. “Listen, I can't help you unless I know what it is I'm trying to do. So you might want to think about elaborating a little. _Before_ I walk out that door.” She jerked a thumb back towards the way she’d come to hammer home her point.

This time it was the Consort’s turn to narrow her eyes, her lips tightening before her face relaxed into a polite mask that didn’t quite reach her now icy blue eyes. “You are quite the forceful negotiator, aren't you Commander. Very well, I will tell you.”

 _Ugh, finally_ , thought Erisa. “Good choice. Now what exactly happened?”

“In my duties as Consort, I offer my clients comfort, encouragement and, when needed, solace. I give them what they need in order that they may continue to be the best versions of themselves. Sometimes it is no more than a few inspiring words, at other times a shoulder to cry on. On occasion however, it can be something more... physical.” Sha’ira let the obvious implications hang unspoken in the air and from behind her, Erisa heard Ash snort derisively.

“Okay, I think I get it. The dumb bastard fell for you and didn't exactly take the rejection very well.” She shook her head in disgust. “God, men can be such babies. Alright Sha'ira, here are my terms. I'm looking for whatever rock Saren Arterius has crawled under. If you use your influence and connections to find me anything you can on him; I'll solve your little problem.”

Sha’ira fell silent, her gaze intense but Shepard met the look with one just as stony. Finally the tension broke and the Consort spoke. “My conversations with my clients are private, Commander. I cannot violate those trusts. But... you appear to have me, what is that human expression? Over a barrel? Very well. Convince Septimus to abandon his smear campaign and I shall discover what I can about Saren for you. Appeal to Septimus' sense of honour. Remind him of his position as a General.” With a warm smile that held no real emotion, the Consort waved a hand towards the door. “Now I must ask you to take your leave. Our business is concluded, for now, and I have many clients waiting to see me.”

As they left the Consort's chambers, Shepard called a brief time out. Followed by Ash and Kaidan, she wandered over to a nearby park bench and took a seat, looking out over the lakes of the Presidium and around at its many tiered levels of gardens and parks as well as its shops and emporiums. It must cost a fortune to live up here, she reckoned. Snapping out of her brief reverie, she looked to her team. “Okay, sit rep. So far we have three leads on Saren. Garrus Vakarian, Urdnot Wrex and Sha’ira. Wrex is currently in C-Sec custody for questioning whilst we need to find Harkin to get to Garrus Vakarian and make this Septimus back off in order to secure Sha’ira’s assistance. Looks like our next stop is Chora’s Den, people.”

This time they made it to Chora’s Den without incident. It was just the seedy sort of place Shepard expected it to be, filled with the worst kind of scum a place like the Lower Wards usually attracted, all there to drink, seal back alley deals and leer at the asari maidens spending their youth dancing and stripping. Ashley rolled her eyes as she looked around the bar. “A million light years from where humanity began and we walk into a bar filled with men drooling over half naked women shaking their asses on a stage. I can't decide if that's funny or sad.” Shepard had to cover a smirk at the Chief’s remark. “I guess some things are universal chief, men will be pigs no matter the structure of their DNA.”

Harkin was easy to find, all they had to do was follow the stink of whisky and corruption. As they approached, he looked up and assessed them through bleary eyes. “Alliance military. Hmph. I coulda been a marine, you know. Instead I joined the goddamned Citadel Security. Biggest mistake of my life.”

Shepard found it doubtful a drunk like Harkin would have made it very far as an alliance marine, but she held her tongue. No use antagonising him until they had what they needed from him.

“I'm looking for a C-Sec officer,” she stated bluntly. “A turian named Garrus.”

“Garrus? Ha! You must be one of Captain Anderson's crew. Poor bastard's still trying to bring Saren down, eh? Yeah, I know where Garrus is. But you gotta tell me something first. Did the captain let you in on his big secret?”

The commander’s hands balled into fists reflexively. For the last thirteen years, ever since his patrol had picked her up on Mindoir alone and terrified, David Anderson had been like a father to her. He could never quite replace the parents she’d lost when the Batarians had raided her home but he was the next best thing and Erisa could feel the anger rising within her like a coiled serpent as Harkin talked about her captain with such disrespect. It took a lot of effort for her to keep a level voice but she managed it and spoke again, though her tone was considerably cooler. “Just tell me where Garrus is before this turns ugly, Harkin. And keep your opinions to yourself.”

“But it's all related. Don't you see? The captain used to be a Spectre. Didn't know that, did you? It was all very hush-hush. The first human ever given that honour. And then he blew it. Screwed up his mission so bad they kicked him out. Of course, he blames Saren. Says the turian set him up.” Harkin was starting to enjoy himself, needling the commander viciously. The old bastard was more perceptive than Shepard had given him credit for, he’d seen the slightest of tells that gave away the closer relationship between Erisa and her captain. Unfortunately for him, he’d overestimated her tolerance for a piece of crap like him. A gloved hand snaked out and grabbed him by the back of the head before slamming him down face first into the table. With his reflexes blunted both by the drink and the unexpected speed of her attack, the disgraced C-Sec officer was caught completely off guard and he felt his nose shatter as his face met the steel table. White hot pain shot through his head and he cried out without thinking. Before he could even think about retaliating, the metallic clattering of a weapon auto-assembling echoed in his ears and he felt the cold steel of a gun barrel press against his temple, an oddly poetic juxtaposition to the feel of hot blood dripping from his ruined nose.

Shepard’s sudden attack had taken most of the nearby patrons completely by surprise, but Kaidan and Ashley had recovered quickly and now stood flanking their commander, their own weapons drawn and raised to discourage anyone from coming to Harkin’s aid. Not that it mattered, as those at the nearest tables just shrugged off the disturbance as if it were commonplace in Chora’s Den and returned to their own pursuits.  Shepard leaned down hard on Harkin’s neck and ground the barrel of her weapon against the side of his head, her voice was a menacing growl as she spoke. “One more chance, you piece of shit. Tell me where Garrus is. Now.”

He struggled briefly beneath her, only going limp when he heard a round chamber inside the Tempest. “Okay, okay! Settle down. H-he went to speak to Dr. Michel. O-over in the med clinic, other side of the Wards.”

Stepping back, Erisa let him up and gave him a look that would have had a Krogan taking a backward step. “If I hear you repeating your lies about the Captain again, I’m going to come find you, Harkin. And then you’ll wish to God I hadn’t. Get the fuck out of my sight.”

Alenko and Williams stood down as well, lowering their weapons for the moment and Shepard shook her head as she watched Harkin drunkenly stagger out of the bar, a bloody rag clutched to his nose. It was Ash who spoke first, her voice low and a little nervous, given how she’d seen Shepard react. “I wonder if he was telling the truth. About the captain, I mean.” Kaidan shook his head as he holstered his sidearm. “Does it really matter? It’s ancient history now. Though it would explain how the captain knows Saren...” The commander shut them down with a cold look. “Stow it, marines. Unless the captain tells us otherwise, every word out of that sack of shit’s mouth was a goddamn lie.” She grunted and collapsed her SMG then clipped it back on her belt’s hardpoint. Harkin had fouled her mood and they still had another job to do here in Chora’s Den.  

 Septimus was nearby and he watched dispassionately as they approached his table. Squabbles between humans didn’t interest him, nothing did these days. Nothing except her.  As Shepard got closer he was soon forced to acknowledge her presence. “Commander? Hmph. What do you want?”

Shepard forced herself to keep her attention on the task at hand and spoke as diplomatically as she could. “I'm here on Sha'ira's behalf, sir. Your lies are hurting her.”

The general downed his drink and stiffened in his seat. “Good! Her lies have been killing me for days. I've seen a lot of horrible things in my days and there's only one woman in this damn galaxy that helps me forget it all.”

Kaidan could see his commander’s temper was already frayed by their conversation with Harkin so he stepped into the discussion with the general to give her time to compose herself. “So if you feel that way general, then why spread lies about her?”

“Because she rejected me. Me! Septimus Oraka, general of the turian fleet.”

Shepard snorted in disgust. “Some general! What kind of example are you holding up to your troops?”

“The troops can kiss my leathery ass!” The general swore, before slumping forward with a resigned sigh. “All I wanted was to retire and be with her. Look kid, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but don't waste your time.”

Shepard ground her teeth, biting back a scathing retort, before she switched tack. Maybe appealing to his sense of honour and duty, as Sha’ira had suggested, would work. “You need to start acting like a general if you want to beat this, sir.”

“I spent all my life acting like a general and what did it get me? No, those days are over. I'll just be what I am: a tired, lonely, worn out soldier.” The old general took a long pull from what looked like a glass of turian brandy.

While the general was giving up, Shepard was all but getting started and she sneered at him in disgust. “You're pathetic! I thought I was talking to a damn general, not some wet behind the ears private crying for his mother. Quit your damn whining and grow a pair, general.” The last word was spat out, as if it had left a bad taste in her mouth.

That got the rise she was looking for. The old turian drew himself up ramrod straight and gave her a fiery death stare that made her think she’d gone too far. Slowly though, the angered frown slipped into a knowing smile. Or at least as much of a smile as the physiology of the turian face would allow. “Ha! You got balls, kid. There are only five people in this damn galaxy who'd dare talk to me like that. So you think it's that easy huh? Just straighten up and act like a general?”

Watching the staredown from the side, Kaidan gave a dry smile of his own. “It couldn't hurt, sir.”

Septimus gave a dry chuckle, already looking more like a soldier than he had in days. “Huh. Maybe you're right, Commander. Sha'ira's worth the effort, even if she won't have me back.” Giving a slightly embarrassed cough, he leant forward, lowering his voice. “Look... uh, there's an elcor diplomat out there who believes Sha'ira gave up his secrets. His name is Xeltan and he's over in the embassies complaining about Sha'ira right now.”

Shepard’s brow wrinkled a brief moment in confusion, but she thought she knew the answer as soon as the question escaped her lips. “Why would he think that?”

The general was at least honest about it and answered candidly. “Because I told him. Look, I just need you to convince him of the truth. Take this datachip. It shows where I got my intel. It will exonerate Sha'ira and convince the elcor.” Raising his glass, he drained it and stood, straightening his tunic. “Well, here's to soldiers acting like soldiers. Goodbye Commander and thank you.”

As they walked out of Chora’s Den, Shepard opened an encrypted channel to the Elcor embassy and transmitted the contents of the datachip to the Ambassador. Once done, she hit the small chip with a low powered overload, fusing the circuitry and rendering the chip a useless hunk of metal and plastic. Shepard felt at least a momentary sense of accomplishment as they headed towards the med clinic in the Wards. They knew where Garrus was and had sealed the deal to secure the Consort’s help in finding Saren. “It's hard to see a general getting upset like that over a woman,” remarked Kaidan, as they walked.

“That's because you don't understand women, LT,” said Ashley. Shepard couldn’t help but smile at the remark and she felt her sour mood lift as she turned and low-fived the Chief in a gesture of womanly solidarity. “You might want to slap some medigel on that burn, Alenko. Looks like it stings.”

They found the clinic easy enough after a short walk through the Wards, but as the door opened they saw Garrus crouched down behind a wall and a merc up close and personal with someone they assumed was Dr Michel. "Listen, Doc. We don't wanna hurt ya, but we need to make sure you don't tell nobody about the suit rat. Simple enough, right? You talk, you die. Easy."

The merc heard the door, grabbed the doc and put a pistol to her head. Two more thugs standing in the background moved to cover behind some supply boxes and a medical bed. As soon as they heard the threat while walking in the door, Shepard triggered her tactical cloak and faded from view before being seen. Her team would know what to do; as it had quickly been established as one of the fire team’s primary tactics. Distract and delay long enough for her to get into a flanking position then open fire on her command. As soon as the mercenaries saw them, Kaidan pulled his pistol and Ashley her assault rifle. Ash just smiled as she lined up the lead merc, a red dot from her rifle’s laser sight hovering steadily over his forehead. “I got the lead LT, you good with the other two?” Kaidan nodded; all business, as one hand dropped to his side and started to glow blue; wisps of biotic energy gathering about his clenched fist. “I got them, Chief.”

The merc leader sneered at what looked like just a pair of marines and didn't give an inch, pressing the barrel of his heavy pistol harder against Dr. Michel’s head until she whimpered with fear. "There are three of us, only two of you, and I got the Doc. You so much as twitch a muscle and they’ll be picking up her brains with a sponge. So what say you two just turn around, walk out of here and forget you ever saw anything huh?” He paused and ran his eyes over Ashley a moment. "Unless you want to stay, darlin’. We could have some fun after my boys and I finish with Dr. Michel here.” Still cloaked, Shepard felt her temper spike at the mercenary’s insinuations and her finger twitched against the trigger guard; she had to fight the urge to put a round through his skull now, before they were all in position.

Ashley snorted at the offer. “Thanks,” she drawled sarcastically, “but I think I’ll pass.” Kaidan, his aim never wavering, smirked at the merc in charge. "Actually hoss, there are four of us. You just can’t see the other two... and that means you have a serious problem.”

The gunman faltered for just a moment, searching rapidly with his eyes for any tell-tale signs of the other two and that was all Garrus needed. Coming out of cover on the merc’s flank, he took a knee and fired his weapon once, sending the merc holding Dr Michel collapsing to the ground. From her concealed position to the right flank of the gunmen, Shepard smiled and keyed in her mic. “Take them.” As soon as Garrus started moving, Kaidan released the dark energy he’d been gathering and threw a shockwave across the room, knocking the other two goons backward and pinning them in place with toppled storage crates and shelving units. Ashley took care of one with a clean burst to the chest and from seemingly out of nowhere, Shepard’s Viper barked once, dropping the last man with a bullet between the eyes.  The turian’s head snapped around, looking for where the shot had come from and to his left Shepard materialised out of thin air, deactivating her tactical cloak. "Nice shot, Vakarian."

The C-Sec officer chuckled dryly and holstered his weapon. “Not too bad yourself, Shepard.” He glanced at Ashley and Kaidan, nodding to them in greeting. “I’m guessing you’re probably here for me, rather than Doctor Michel. I heard about the Council’s decision not to revoke Saren’s Spectre status. Figured you’d show up sooner or later. Lucky for the doctor it was sooner.”

After brief introductions all around, they got to Dr Michel and the reason the hired muscle had been there in the first place. Apparently, a Quarian by the name of Tali'zorah nar Rayya had come into the clinic with a gunshot wound. She was in possession of audio evidence of Saren's connection to the Geth attack on Eden Prime. She intended to sell it to an agent of the Shadow Broker, named Fist, who owned Chora’s Den. Shepard swore. “Goddamn it, we were just there. Could have killed three birds with one stone.”

Garrus furrowed his brow in confusion at the human saying before pushing on. “Anyway, word on the street is Fist’s betrayed the Broker and is working for Saren now.”

Shepard nodded, reattaching her collapsed rifle to its hardpoint over her left shoulder. “We know. The Broker’s put out a contract on Fist and a Krogan by the name of Urdnot Wrex has picked it up.” Garrus was about to open his mouth when the commander shrugged. “We have a contact on station who gave up the intel. The Broker isn’t picky about who takes out Fist, as long as the message is heard loud and clear by his other intermediaries.”

The C-Sec officer tapped his chin. “If you’re going after Saren, I want in. That bastard’s done some shady shit and is abusing his Spectre status to get away with it, but he’s too damn good to leave anything but scraps of clues behind. Nothing that can definitively tie him to his crimes. He’s a disgrace to the Spectres _and_ his race.” Shepard looked at Kaidan and Ashley for any input, but getting nothing but nods of approval, she turned back to Garrus. “This isn’t going to be a C-Sec op Vakarian, by now Fist knows he’s on the Broker’s shitlist and that means we’ll likely be fighting our way to him through whatever security he can afford. I can’t do that and worry about whether or not you’re going to arrest me once I’m done.” The turian snorted and shook his head.

“You don’t have to worry about that, Commander. I’m done with C-Sec. Bastards have looked the other way one too many times when it comes to Saren; if you’re taking him down for good, I want to be part of it.” Reaching down to his belt, he unclipped his C-Sec ident and tossed it in the direction of the dead bodies who’d formerly worked for Fist. Shepard gave a dry smile and extended a hand, five fingers shaking three. “In that case, welcome aboard, Vakarian.” She looked him over briefly. “We don’t have the time to waste resupplying and you’re going to need more than that Phalanx when we get to Chora’s Den. Strip whatever weapons you need off of them,” she waved at the corpses, “and make it fast. That Quarian’s data is our best shot at nailing Saren. We can’t afford to lose her. Load up and let’s double time it people!”

They made for quite the sight, a heavily armed fire team hustling quickly through the Wards, They were almost stopped by C-Sec, but the officer recognised Garrus and stepped back, waving them through. His ‘resignation’ wouldn’t be found for a while yet, not until C-Sec arrived to secure the crime scene at the med clinic. Rounding the corner to Chora’s Den, Shepard saw a heavily armed Krogan standing at the door to the club, attaching what looked like a breaching charge to the heavy steel portal. Holding up a fist, she stopped the team in its tracks. The last thing they needed was a firefight outside the front door giving away their approach.

Spotting the Normandy crew, the huge Krogan pulled out a vicious looking shotgun and levelled it at them. Shepard recognised it as an Eviscerator; a particularly nasty weapon that fired flechettes at high velocity which literally tore armour to pieces. Technically it wasn’t even legal in Council space. The krogan’s reptilian eyes narrowed and he literally growled at them, "You here for the bounty? Well, you’re too late. It’s mine. Shadow Broker's paying good money to make Fist dead. If that means I need to kill you too, then I can live with that."  

Shepard looked at the giant alien, noting his myriad battle scars and clan markings and dawned on her that he was a Krogan Battlemaster. That wasn’t a title that was easily earned, and she didn’t like their chances if it came to a fight. Not in these close quarters, at least. Keeping her hands away from her weapons, she took a step towards the Krogan. “Well, you got one thing right at least.” The big warrior snarled at her and she froze, mentally kicking herself. _Don’t sass the giant Krogan pointing a shotgun at you, Erisa,_ she told herself. “You must be Urdnot Wrex. I’m Commander Erisa Shepard, Alliance Marines. Listen Wrex, if I can call you that, yes I’m here for Fist but I don’t give two fucks about the bounty. Fist has some information, some very important information I need. After I get that out of him I couldn’t care less if you kill him. So what say we help each other out? We all storm this crappy little bar together, I get five minutes with Fist and then he’s yours. Sound good?”

Wrex paused and mulled the offer over, "Hmph. I'm normally a solo act. Why should I care about you and your info? What’s in it for me?"

Good question. Erisa pointed at the breaching charge with a finger. "Well, if you have to breach the front door then I’d say Fist knows you're coming. And from what I’ve seen of his operation he’ll have at least a couple dozen guys inside. All fighting from entrenched defensive positions, all with orders to kill anything that comes through that door. Getting in won't to be easy alone, even for a Battlemaster, and this intel we need is important... Fist has evidence that a Spectre has gone rogue. I need that evidence to get the Council to revoke his status. Last thing the galaxy needs is someone like Saren Arterius roaming the starways with an army of Geth.”

Wrex’s grim scowl slowly turned into a toothy grin and he lowered the shotgun. "Now that sounds like a hell of a fight. Alright Shepard, you get your five minutes, I get Fist and if your intel pans out I get to come kill Geth with you. We got a deal?”

Shepard lowered her hands and smiled viciously. "Urdnot Wrex, we got a deal." Nodding back to behind her, she introduced her crew. “Alenko, Williams and Vakarian. You got a plan Wrex or were you just going to wing it?”

The scarred krogan grinned. “I’m a Battlemaster, Shepard. I don’t need a plan, just ammo.”

Erisa couldn’t help but smirk. Gathering the rest of the team around her, she brought up a scan of the bar’s layout on her omnitool and projected the holograph up for everyone to see. “Okay, between us we have two snipers, a Battlemaster, a biotic and one kick ass marine. Here’s what I propose we do...”  

Fist and his men had no idea what hit them. A small platoon of poorly trained criminals had no chance against their highly trained and motivated fire team and they quickly overwhelmed Fist’s security with a rapid blitz of fire-and-move style CQB coupled with shock and awe displays of biotics from Alenko and Wrex. Once they got into the back office, Fist’s automated security drones were deactivated with overloads from Shepard and Garrus almost as soon as they came to life, leaving the outmanned and outgunned criminal cowering behind his desk, clutching a heavy pistol.

With five weapons trained on the flimsy desk, Shepard called out to Fist in a steely growl. “Lose the weapon, Fist! Don’t make this any harder than it has to be.” It only took a second before the pistol came skittering towards them across the polished floor, then Saren’s agent stood up, hands raised high. “Your five minutes start now, Shepard,” Wrex said bluntly. Walking towards Fist, Shepard holstered her Tempest and stood a fallen chair back upright. Grabbing him roughly by the shoulder, she pushed Fist down onto it and stood opposite him. “I’m going to make this real easy, Fist. I’m sure by now you thoroughly comprehend the depth of the shit your decision to work for Saren has put you in; so tell me where the quarian is and I’ll let you live.” Beady eyes shifted about, looking for a way out and finding none, but still he sneered and spat at Shepard. “Yeah, right. I ain’t stupid, bitch. I talk and you just let the Krogan kill me. That little suit rat is the only thing keeping me alive right now.” He gave a sly grin, as if he’d found his way out, but Shepard’s return smile was even grimmer. With the flick of a wrist her omnitool brought her nanoblade to life and she effortlessly slid the molecule thin construct into his kneecap. The scream that tore its way out of Fist’s throat was excruciating and behind her, both Kaidan and Ashley looked on in horror, whilst Garrus stood silent, watching. Only Wrex gave a chuckle, he could get to like this human. Shepard leaned in close to Fist until she was face to face with him; close enough to smell the sourness of his breath and the rank stink of fear on him. With a wintry voice, she almost cooed at him. “No Fist. If you talk, I let the Krogan kill you quick and painless. You _don’t_ talk... I spend what’s left of my five minutes slicing you into smaller and smaller pieces.” One look into eyes as void of feeling as those of a marble statue and he was convinced she’d do it. He gave up his intel without a second’s hesitation after that. As an afterthought, Shepard grabbed up Fist's data disks from where they lay scattered on the floor, thinking the info might have some future trade value, maybe with Barla Von, and her team headed out of the office. “He’s all yours, Wrex.” A shotgun blast echoed from behind them as the door closed and a moment later Wrex’s hulking form rejoined them. They had a tight timeline to stick to. The quarian was to meet Saren's agents in one of the back alleys within the next five minutes.

Tali paced back and forth in the alley, wondering where her contact was. They were late, and it made her nervous. She'd already been shot once since coming onto the Citadel, and her prospects of actually surviving this whole scenario weren't looking good at the moment. Thinking she heard something in the back of the alley, she quickly glanced back over her shoulder, but then heard a voice from in front of her, so her head snapped back around.

"Did you bring it?" A large Turian suddenly materialized in front of her, way too close for comfort.  _Where the hell did he come from?_

"Who are you? Where's Fist?"  _This is looking worse by the minute, you naive little girl!_

The Turian sounded very condescending as he spoke, "Oh, come now. Surely you didn't think Fist or the Broker would handle this in person now, did you?"

Tali heard a noise behind her again, and she glanced back to see two Salarians with pistols ready.  _You Bosh'tet!_  Suddenly, her hand flipped out and launched a flash-bang grenade toward the Salarians as she rolled back away from the Turian, but the explosion resulted in more than she expected...

The commander and crew rounded the corner, weapons drawn, just as Tali flicked her wrist. "Ay, _nywana ya mmao!_ ” Shepard cursed in old Sotho before she began bellowing orders. “Chief, keep those Salarians busy; Vakarian, anything steps into this alley you drop it with extreme prejudice! Alenko, secure our rear! Wre...” But the giant krogan was gone before she could utter another word. With a primal bellow he’d charged into the fray, bypassing the Salarian assassins and heading straight for Saren’s turian agent. “I AM KROGAN!”

The Turian was caught off guard by the sudden arrival of armed hostiles and spun to face the immediate threat, firing his heavy pistol point blank into the charging krogan and ignoring the little quarian for now. Not that it did a hell of a lot of good. The heavy calibre rounds tore at Wrex’s barrier but before it dropped he’d already managed to grab the turian by the throat. Lifting him high into the air, Wrex slammed the agent down onto the deck plates like a rag doll and pulled free his shotgun, a single shot tearing through both the turian’s shields and light armour before shredding the flesh beneath.

As soon as Tali had rolled back, she’d started working furiously on her omnitool. Suddenly it sparked to life and pulsed, the lighter pistols of the two salarians overheated and became completely and utterly useless. That bought Ashley all the time she needed to focus on both assassins, dropping their shields with sustained fire even as Garrus dropped one with a neat headshot from the Viper sniper rifle he’d salvaged at the med clinic. Shepard finished the other with just as precise a shot, a high velocity round piercing the faceplate of the salarian’s helmet and killing him instantly.  Swiftly and methodically she scanned the battleground for any remaining threats before collapsing her rifle and stowing it away; satisfied they were out of the woods for now. A quiet fury burned inside her though and she glared at Wrex as she walked up to where he and the quarian stood over the dead turian. “Remind me to talk to you about chain of command and tactical warfare, Wrex. I know you’re used to flying solo but this is my team, which makes it my op. If you can’t wait for orders in the future, then don’t let the door hit your wide ass on the way out.”

The big Battlemaster grunted and narrowed his eyes. “Heh. Looking forward to it... commander.” She ignored his sullen tone and spun on her heel, turning to face Tali. “Tali’zorah nar Rayya?” She waited until she got a cautious nod from the suited quarian. “I'm Commander Shepard of the Alliance Frigate SSV Normandy. The Alliance needs your help, Miss nar Rayya. We need your evidence against Saren."

Tali stared at Shepard in amazement. "Keelah! Is there anyone who doesn't know what I have on my omnitool?"

Shepard gave a faint smile and shook her head. "Trust me Miss nar Rayya, it took a great deal of effort to even learn you existed. Most of those with any knowledge of the evidence you’re carrying are no longer a threat. And if you agree to aid us then the information you’re carrying will be put to good use. Enough so that it will no longer make you a target for men like Saren and the Shadow Broker.  Right now, our first priority is to get you safe, and then you can show us what you've got."

Shepard couldn't see through Tali's mask, but the young Quarian hesitated before speaking, "And why should I?  Trust you that is, commander."

Shepard’s smile widened a little. “Good, you’re learning. You’ve got no reason to at all, yet. Other than the fact my team and I just helped you out of a pretty tight spot, that is.” She looked back towards the rough and ready looking ground team she’d managed to put together in the last several hours. “Oh, and we didn't just kill you and take your omnitool." Shepard stepped back, giving Tali a clear exit out to the more populated areas of the Wards. "You’re free to leave at any time, Miss. All I’m asking for is a chance to put the Alliance’s case to you. We're not here to coerce you, and I’m certainly not here to harm you. What I am doing is hunting Saren, and if you've got something, anything on him, I’d very much like to see it."

The gambit paid off and Tali agreed, "Well, you did just save me, so I guess I owe you at least an explanation." Shepard sent everyone back to the Normandy except for Tali and Chief Williams. She was fairly certain Saren wouldn’t risk attacking them in the open again, certainly not in the heart of the Citadel, but until Tali’s evidence was placed before the Council in person, she wasn’t taking the slightest chance and gave Ash orders to stick to Tali like white on rice. As they headed back to the Ambassador's office, Shepard quickly placed a call to Captain Anderson to tell him what happened and requested he meet them at Udina's office. What they’d found would force the Council into action and Anderson deserved to be there when it happened. The Ambassador was none too impressed when Shepard showed up in his office and he made his annoyance quite plain as soon as she walked in. “You're not making my life easy, Shepard. Firefights in the Wards? An all out assault on Chora's Den? Do you know how many...” He paused when he saw the young quarian standing between the commander and the Gunnery Chief, eyes narrowing. “Who is this? A quarian? What are you up to, Shepard?”

Shepard forced back a tart reply and answered Udina as plainly as she could. “This quarian can help us bring down Saren, Ambassador. I'd have told you that if you hadn't jumped down my throat the minute we walked in.” Ushering Tali forward, she presented her to the two Alliance officials. “Ambassador Udina, Captain Anderson; I'd like to introduce Miss Tali'zorah nar Rayya.”

To her surprise, Udina was quite pleasant towards the young quarian and she snorted inwardly. _Figures, guess it’s just us marines he doesn’t like._ “It is a pleasure, Miss nar Rayya. We don't see many Quarians here on the Citadel. Why did you leave the Flotilla?” he asked politely.

It was almost impossible to make out anything other than the quarian’s glowing eyes beneath the frosted faceplate of her envirosuit’s helmet, which made gauging her reaction completely reliant on body language and the tone of her voice; which had a lilting quality all of its own. “I was on my Pilgrimage, my rite of passage into adulthood.”

Shepard gently interrupted the conversation before it even got started. They were on a deadline whether they admitted it or not. “We're going to need to see that evidence before we can help you, Miss nar Rayya. Could you tell us what you found?”

Tali nodded, convinced by what she’d seen that Shepard and her superiors wanted to help her, unlike Fist and his cronies. “During my travels I began hearing reports of Geth. Since they drove my people into exile, the geth have never ventured beyond the Veil. I was curious. I tracked a patrol of geth to an uncharted world. I waited for one to become separated from its unit. Then I disabled it and removed its memory core.”

Anderson chimed in, his brow furrowed in momentary confusion. “I thought the geth fried their memory cores when they died. Some kind of defence mechanism. How did you manage to preserve the memory core?”

The lilting voice was filled with a mix of pride and humour as Tali answered him. “My people created the geth, Captain. If you're quick, careful and lucky small caches of data can sometimes be saved. Most of the core was wiped clean but I salvaged something from its audio banks.” Bringing up the holodisplay of her omnitool, she tapped a few holokeys and raised the volume on the recording so they could all hear it clearly.

_“Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit.”_

Anderson slammed his fist into his palm, a triumphant look on his face. “That's Saren's voice! This proves he was involved in the attack!”

Shepard gave a cold, grim smile of her own, doing her best to contain her petty glee. “I told that smug sonovabitch I'd nail him. Saren won't get out of this one.”

 “Wait,” Tali interrupted, “there's more. Saren wasn't working alone.”

_“And one step closer to the return of the Reapers.”_

Udina frowned, touching his chin in thought. “I don't recognise that other voice. The one talking about Reapers.”

The very name itself caused Shepard to shiver violently, as if someone had just walked over her grave, and she felt a palpable sense of dread when it was repeated. “I feel like I've heard that name before,” she muttered darkly.

Tali continued to present her evidence. “According to the memory core, the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that existed 50,000 years ago. The Reapers hunted the Protheans to total extinction and then they vanished. At least, that's what the geth believe.” She gave a simple shrug at that. It had been three centuries since the Morning War, when the geth had turned on their creators and driven the entire quarian race off of their home planet, Rannoch. Three centuries in which the synthetic geth had had time to develop along their own lines and establish their own beliefs and culture.

The Ambassador’s frown only deepened at Tali’s explanation. “Hmm, it sounds a little far-fetched, don’t you think?”

The commander shook her head as she put the pieces together. “I don't think it is, Ambassador. The vision on Eden Prime, I think I understand it now, or at least some of it. I saw the Protheans being wiped out by the Reapers.”

Tali added a final observation gleaned from the memory files she’d managed to retrieve from the geth’s data core. “The geth revere the Reapers as gods, the pinnacle of non-organic life. And they believe Saren knows how to bring them back. At least, that’s what the data indicates,” she offered helpfully.

Udina was just shaking his head in disbelief now.  Oh, the Council is just going to love this.”

Snorting derisively, Shepard held back a sarcastic laugh. “They won't believe us anyway so there’s no need to include any mention of the Reapers just yet, if we can help it. Not until we have something more solid than a goddamn vision to go on. I’ve already been laughed at once for that, thank you very much.”

The captain was forced to agree, despite his complete faith in Shepard’s veracity. “Well even if they don't believe anything else, this proves Saren is a traitor. We need to present this to the Council right away.”

It looked like things were finally coming to a head when Ashley coughed politely and interjected, looking squarely at Tali. “So ahh, what about her? The quarian, I mean?”

The young pilgrim crossed her arms over her chest and Shepard could have sworn she saw the rigid faceplate pout with indignation. “My name is Tali! You saw me in the alley, commander,” she said, pleading with Shepard. “You know what I can do. Let me come with you.”

Shepard paused, considering the offer and the factors involved before she nodded. “At this point I'll take all the help I can get. Welcome to the team, Tali’zorah.”

The voice was decidedly warmer when it came through the helmet’s synthesizer this time. “Thanks. You won't regret this.”

Udina took command of the situation then, after all, this matter now fell squarely into his purview as humanity’s ambassador to the Citadel Council. “Alright then, Shepard. You and Miss nar Rayya have convinced me. Anderson and I will go on ahead now to get things ready for the Council. As soon as they get wind of this they’ll call an emergency session. Take a few minutes to clean up and collect yourself, and then meet us in the Tower.”

Tali's evidence proved Saren's involvement with the Geth and the planned attack on Eden Prime. Once they met with the Council, the second voice on the recording was identified as a powerful Asari, Matriarch Benezia. When they listened to the entire recording it filled in some of the blanks. Apparently the whole plan by Saren was an attempt to locate some ancient technology, referred to as the Conduit, with an end goal of the return of the Reapers; ending life as the galaxy knew it. That sum of knowledge led to many things-- Saren's spectre status was revoked and grudgingly handed to Shepard, along with the mission of pursuing Saren into the Terminus System. The Council was able to provide two starting leads. First, trying to find just Saren would prove a fool’s errand as he was too well trained and too experienced to leave a trail and second, no one had the slightest idea where to start looking. But finding Geth however, would probably lead to finding Saren, and there were reports of Geth on the planets of Noveria and Feros. The second lead was an archaeologist and Prothean expert, Dr Liara T'Soni, who just happened to be the daughter of Matriarch Benezia, and was somewhere on the planet Therum. Whether or not she knew of her mother’s involvement with Saren’s treason was unknown so the Council asked she initially be treated as a witness rather than a suspect.

Leaving the Council meeting, Udina congratulated Shepard half-heartedly.  “Congratulations Commander, but I'm afraid there is no time to celebrate. We've got a lot of work to do. You're going to need a ship, a crew, supplies... Anderson, come with me. I'll need your help to set all this up.” The captain nodded, but shook hands warmly with Shepard before he left. “Report to the Normandy when you’re ready, Commander. I don’t know what Udina has in mind, but he’s right about needing to get you properly outfitted. A mission like this out into the Traverse will be dangerous. We’ll operate out of the Normandy until we get you properly squared away.”

Alone now in the Council chambers, Shepard turned to their newest crew member. “Tali, report to the Normandy. She’s berthed in dock 477. If the Alliance Tower gives you any trouble tell them you’re reporting for duty as per my orders and invite them to contact me for confirmation. I need a moment with the Chief.” Tali did her best to hide her curiosity, an easy feat considering her envirosuit and helmet completely masked her expressions, and she gave the commander her best attempt at an alliance salute. “Aye aye, Commander.”

Left alone with a now very curious Ashley, Erisa leant on one of the railings and looked upward, out of the vast skylight in the Citadel Tower that offered a spectacular view of the pink and purple nebula that surrounded the huge station. The grand vista gave her a sense of peace as she struggled to make sense of her feelings. Never before had she felt the need to explain any of her actions to those under her, but as with everything involving Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, her usual behaviour was turned on its head. For her part, Ash waited patiently for her commander, a woman she was quickly beginning to regard as her friend, to speak. In the meantime she stepped up to the railings beside Shepard and looking out at the stars.  Trying to buy time as she figured out what she wanted to say, Shepard spoke, though she never took her dark eyes off of the nebula. “Amazing, isn’t it. So vivid and yet so ethereal, Clouds of gas floating in the darkness of space, refracting the light of a million far off stars until all we can see is colour.” Pausing, she smiled as the imagery brought an old poem to mind, a short piece by a 21st century poet, Ange de Lune. In a rich and sonorous voice, she recited it.

 _“Stargazer, from the dawn of Galaxies_  
_With all the coloured diamonds scattered_  
 _Among the cosmic mist of silver moonbeams_  
 _Whispers in the Wind, breath of a Flame_  
  
_Your fingertips hold my eyes_  
 _Leading me on a dance towards Orion_  
 _Along the crystal stream of the Milky Way_  
 _Waltzing through each stellar Nebula_  
  
_Carrying me to the heights of a Supernova_  
 _Your Glorious Light shining the way Home Always.”_

The impromptu poem took Ashley completely by surprise and she looked away from the stars towards Shepard. The way the commander had spoken about the nebula, and then the moving, nuanced recitation of the poem forced her to re-evaluate her opinion of the commander. Beneath the cold exterior, the closed walls and buried grief was a different side to the woman who was her superior and Ashley smiled. Sure, Shepard was still scary as all hell, but there was a more human side to her as well, something softer under all that armour and it made the distance between them seem... lesser. “I didn’t know you liked poetry, Shepard.”

Shepard looked down and gave Ashley a faint smile, a mere ghost of one that tugged at her lips. “I never used to, but after... well.” She shrugged, leaving the name Akuze unspoken. “The head shrink they made me see suggested it. I guess I found something in it that helped me cope. Now I just read it because I enjoy it.” She smirked and eyed Williams. “You telling me you’re a fan too, chief?”

Ash nodded, returning the smirk with a smile. “Yeah, my dad was a huge fan. I used to record myself reading Ulysses for him every time he shipped out. He must have had a dozen copies by the time he retired.”

Erisa nodded slowly. “Tennyson, huh? I’m more of a Poe girl, myself. I guess his darker stuff was just where my head was at when I started reading.” She paused and changed the subject, finally getting up the nerve to say what she’d intended to at the start. “Look, I ah... oh hell!” She cursed at herself then forced it out. “I know what I did to Fist wasn’t exactly by the book, but we were running out of time. Hell, I probably should have stopped Wrex from killing him too, just turned him over to C-Sec. I’m sorry you saw that.” Pausing, she looked at the chief for a reaction, her normally cold and dark eyes oddly vulnerable.

Ash was caught a little off guard by the apology. “There’s no need to apologise, ma’am. It was your op; it’s certainly not my place to tell you how...” Shepard cut her off. “I saw the look in your eyes when we left Chora’s Den, Ash. I know it disturbed you, and it wasn’t the first time you’ve seen me use... excessive force.” She couched it in the more acceptable phraseology, hoping to lessen the impact is might have on Ash’s opinion of her.

“Well, yeah... it did. I mean, you’re an Alliance officer, ma’am,” she said, reverting back to her role as Shepard’s subordinate. “We’re not supposed to torture detainees for intel, much less turn them over to mercenaries for execution!” The commander nodded, looking for the entire world like a child getting scolded. “I know, chief. And I wanted to apologise for doing that in front of you and Alenko; it could jeopardise your careers if it comes out so if you want to lay a formal complaint, then I’m telling you to do so.”

Ash hadn’t expected that, but then from what she’d learnt of Shepard during her short time amongst the Normandy’s crew, she was pretty sure she was getting to see a side of Shepard no one else did. For some reason the commander was letting her in when she kept everyone else out. “But what about you?” she asked, strangely worried about the commander’s own career. “If I laid a formal complaint there’d be an inquiry at the very least. You could be demoted, maybe even discharged.”

Shepard smiled faintly. “I’m pretty sure my Spectre status would keep me out of trouble. It may have occurred before I was inducted, but the incident took place during our own inquiry into Saren’s treason. That should buy me some leniency, given that Spectres don’t answer to galactic law.” Just then her omnitool beeped and she frowned, checking the holodisplay for messages. “Hmm, Anderson wants us back at the Normandy. Saddle up, chief.” Ashley nodded and followed Shepard out of the Council chambers, headed for the docks. Though they didn’t know it, they were both thinking the same thing. That maybe one day Shepard would open up and tell her more.

Stepping out of the elevator and onto the Normandy’s docking bay, she saw Ambassador Udina and Captain Anderson waiting at the airlock. _That was fast_ , Shepard thought to herself, she’d expected it to take days to organise a ship and crew for her. Perhaps there was a corvette or a patrol cruiser already in dock that they’d been able to reassign for her purposes. She wasn’t looking forward to having to explain to its commander why she was suddenly in charge. As they approached, Udina spotted them and smiled. His expression was a little too gleeful and it made the commander wary. She didn’t like it when a snake like Donnel Udina was happy about something. “Ah, commander,” he said with thinly veiled delight, “I've got big news for you, Shepard. Captain Anderson is stepping down as commanding officer of the Normandy. The ship is yours now.”

She looked at the Captain and he nodded, confirming the Ambassador’s statement but that wasn’t nearly enough for the commander. “I want the truth. Why are you stepping down, sir?”

Anderson clenched his jaw, but he’d expected her to question the decision. Shepard had always been extremely loyal to her commanding officers; it was one of her more amenable traits but sometimes it bordered on insubordinate. “It’s simple, commander. You needed your own ship. A Spectre can't answer to anyone but the Council. And it's time for me to step down.”

Shepard snorted. “That’s a bullshit answer and you know it, sir. Come clean with me Captain. You owe me that much.” The Captain’s expression hardened and Erisa knew she’d overstepped herself again, but she steeled herself in return. She was a Spectre now, and that superceded her junior rank as a lieutenant commander. “You said it yourself, sir. I’m a Spectre now and this is a Council operation; not an Alliance one.”

“Very well, if you must know I was in your shoes twenty years ago, Shepard. They were considering me for the Spectres.”

Erisa did her best to hide the look of shock on her face; Harkin had been telling the truth. “Why didn't you ever mention this?”

“What was I supposed to say? I could have been a Spectre but I blew it? I failed, commander. It's not something I'm proud of. Ask me later and I'll tell you the whole story. For now all you need to know is I was sent on a mission with Saren, and he made sure the Council rejected me. I had my shot, it came and went. Now you have a chance to make up for my mistakes.” Although he did his best to mask it, the pain of that failure could still be seen on Anderson’s face, if you knew him well enough to know how to read it.

Udina broke the tense moment with a brief cough. “You may answer to the Council now, Shepard but your actions still reflect on humanity as a whole. You make a mess and I get stuck cleaning it up.”

Shepard glared at Udina with contempt. “I have one job Ambassador,” she drawled sarcastically,” stop Saren. Period. He’s not going to play nice so neither am I. If and when it gets messy then you can do your damn job and clean it up. Politics is your wheelhouse, so I’ll leave wading through that bullshit to you.”

He returned her glare with a snide sneer of his own, forced to take what pleasure he could in the fact he’d at least sidelined Captain Anderson. “Not exactly the answer I was looking for, Shepard. Remember: you were a human long before you were a Spectre. I have a meeting to get to. Captain Anderson can answer any further questions you might have.” With that, he turned and stalked off.

As Udina left the docking bay, Anderson turned to look at the Normandy, a wistful look of regret on his face. “This isn’t exactly how I imagined ending my career, pushing papers behind a desk somewhere.” Shepard moved to stand beside him and she frowned, both angry at the way the Ambassador and Alliance brass had treated the Captain and remorseful over taking over his command. “I’m sorry sir,” she said softly, her voice unusually gentle. “I didn’t expect this to happen. The Normandy’s your ship. It should be you out there with us, hunting down Saren.”

Anderson gave a soft smile. “No, she’s yours now Shepard. The Ambassador is right, for once. You need a ship of your own for this mission and the Normandy is perfect for the job. She’s quick and quiet and you know the crew; perfect vessel for a Spectre. Treat her well, commander.” He turned and looked at her with a fatherly smile. “Remember when we first met?”

Erisa nodded, trying to suppress a sad smile. “Your squad picked me up outside New Praetoria. I’d been running from the Batarians for nearly a week. I was almost dead from exhaustion and feral.” A wry smirk crossed her lips. “I nearly took your head off with a shotgun I’d taken from one of the colony’s supply caches.”

Anderson chuckled fondly at the memory. “Aye, that you did. I knew at that moment you’d go far in life. You’re a survivor, Shepard; nothing keeps you down for long. You’ve overcome everything life has thrown at you so far. It made me proud the day you joined the Marine Corps. Just like you made me proud today.” Shepard could feel a soft heat creep over her cheeks and thanked God for her African heritage no one could see her blush at the praise.

Clearing his throat, Anderson turned serious. “Be careful out there, Shepard. Saren hates humans and if he’s willing to ally with Geth then there’s no telling just how far he’ll go to achieve his ends. Whatever they might be. Don’t underestimate him, now that he’s been exposed he has nothing to lose and despite the loss of his Spectre status you can safely assume he still has contacts out there who will help him.”

She nodded once then drew herself up and saluted her former commander. Anderson returned the salute and smiled. “You did good today, child. Now go kick his ass.” Erisa quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching then leant in and hugged Anderson, the embrace fleeting in its duration and she whispered quietly to the man who’d watched over her ever since Mindoir. “I will... dad.”

Watching her turn and go, David Anderson smiled sadly and sent a silent prayer out into the universe.  _Whatever Gods hold sway in the dark places she is soon to tread, watch over her and let her enemies know fear._

As she reboarded the Normandy, Shepard thought about the images the beacon stuffed into her head. Synthetics...  _Reapers_ wiping all those lives from the galaxy. She went to the bridge to talk to Joker and lay in a course.  _If we don't stop Saren, this is going to get bad. Very, very bad._

\-------------------------------

Nassana Dantius, an Asari diplomatic emissary assigned to the Citadel, was sitting in the Embassy Lounge and had watched a whole scene unfold before her, where a Systems Alliance Lieutenant Commander chewed up and spit out some poor clerk. Dantius quickly recognized that Shepard was a force to be reckoned with and filed that information away for possible later use. After she heard the commander had been selected to be the first human Spectre, the wheels started to turn and she soon came up with a plan to solve a particularly sticky problem that had been irritating her for a while. She merely had to wait for the right time to implement it.

\-------------------------------

Finally, after days of playing politics with the Council and clawing her way to Spectre status, it was time to get underway. She had her mission, the same mission she’d been fighting for ever since Eden Prime and the moment the Prothean beacon had given her the disturbing visions of a galaxy in flames, at war with an unknown, incomprehensible enemy; find and stop Saren at any cost. Stalking onto the bridge, she came to a stop beside the Normandy’s pilot. Joker looked up at her over his shoulder and shook his head in disbelief. “I heard what happened with the Captain. Survives a hundred battles then gets taken down by backroom political bullshit. Just watch your back, ma’am. Things go bad on this mission and you’re next on their chopping block.”

Shepard nodded grimly and let out a small sigh. “I don’t imagine you’re wrong Moreau. What happened to the Captain was a goddamn travesty but we still have a job to do. Set a course for the Artemis Tau cluster, we’re going to Therum. The Spectre office and Councillor Sparatus have given me everything they have on Saren and Councillor Tevos has done the same for Matriarch Benezia but it’s not enough; too many dry facts and not enough real data. The Captain filled me in on what Saren’s really like, his personality and his goals, his methods and tactics. I need to find someone who can do the same for Benezia and I’m hoping it’s this Doctor T’soni. I need to know who we’re up against before I can figure out how to fight them. Let me know when we're two hours out."

As Shepard turned to leave, Joker spoke up. "Commander? The crew... we're all behind you a hundred percent. The intercom is open if you want to make a ship wide broadcast...?"

Shepard stopped and turned back. "You know what Flight Lieutenant, that might not be a bad idea." With the start of her announcement, every single person on the Normandy stopped what they were doing and listened to the voice over the comm. What they heard were hard words; fighting words.

“Listen up, Normandy! This is your commander speaking. We have our orders: find Saren before he finds the Conduit. And I refuse to let anything get in the way of our mission! We all know what happened on Eden Prime. We saw the destruction. We saw the bodies. We saw what Saren did. And I plan to make him pay! Wherever Saren goes, we'll follow. Wherever he searches for the Conduit, we'll be there. We will hunt him to the very ends of the galaxy and bring him down! This is the most important mission any of us have ever been on. The fate of an entire galaxy is at stake. We will stop Saren, no matter what the cost!”

Joker closed the comm. channel and nodded up at Shepard. “Well said, Commander. The Captain would be proud.”

“Not if we fail,” she said with a stern countenance. “Get us in the air, Lieutenant. It's past time we lit the fires and kicked the tyres. Saren’s out there somewhere and I’ve got a bullet with his name on it. I’d like to deliver it sooner rather than later.”

As soon as she was done, Shepard went to her room and packed up the few personal effects she had. As much as she didn’t want to, she needed to move to the Captain's quarters of the Normandy. She felt slightly guilty as she approached the door, feeling she should be stopping and knocking, but with every pair of eyes in the Normandy on her back, she opened the door and stepped through without hesitation. She looked around and took it all in. It was different than she remembered, the air seemed heavier, the walls colder and more cramped. Oh, on an intellectual level she knew it hadn’t changed, it was just another thing that added to the realization that she was truly in command of the ship, Anderson’s Normandy. Having it be hers gave it a different perspective than when she'd simply been the XO, now she had to put her own stamp on both this room and the ship; she had to make it _her_ Normandy. Dropping her footlocker at the end of the bed, she glanced at the stack of paperwork waiting on the desk and thought about the mission and the crew she’d assembled.

Now that the Normandy had been reassigned to the Council as a Spectre vessel, she had added some new crew members, ignoring the protests from both Udina and the Alliance brass. They’d wanted a human Spectre and now they had one; they’d have to live with the consequences of what that meant. Standing at her desk she looked over the Council personnel files she’d been given access to as soon as her Spectre credentials had come through. What a motley, rag tag bunch. There was Garrus Vakarian, the turian, an ex C-Sec officer who seemed like he might be one to bend the rules; she had no problem with that. Saren certainly wasn’t going to be playing by any, and now that she was a Council Spectre there _were_ no rules, only objectives. Plus, he was another sniper, someone who appreciated the tactical approach to asymmetric warfare. Like all turians he’d undergone military training at an early age and spent years as a soldier before leaving the turian military and joining C-Sec. He’d be a solid addition to the team and a reliable asset. There was also Tali’zorah nar Rayya, a quarian... she was young but intelligent, and had already learned a few hard lessons about how the galaxy worked away from the Quarian flotilla. She had a good head on her shoulders and a knack for tech, which could come in really handy for hacking and sabotage, useful abilities against a synthetic enemy like the Geth.

Lastly she’d added Urdnot Wrex to their roster of allies; a Krogan Battlemaster of all things! Him she’d need to watch, he’d already showed a tendency to do things his way and centuries of being his own boss had him entrenched in his own way of thinking. She would have to break him of that, or at least reach a compromise... his style suited a more reckless approach to battle rather than her own tactical methods. Out think and out manoeuvre was her preferred line of attack rather than simply engaging head on. Perhaps if she paired him with the Chief she might at least be able to channel his aggressive instincts, use him like a Vanguard. He was certainly enough of a heavy hitter and he had the biotics to back up his muscle. As long as they found enough fights so that he didn't get bored, he should work out just fine. Her instincts told her that wasn’t going to be a problem; if anything they were going to get more than any of them had bargained for.

She’d already reviewed Alenko’s file before the Eden Prime mission, so the last file in front of her was that of Gunnery Chief Williams. The problem was; nothing in it made sense. No commendations, no recommendations of any kind from any of her former CO’s. It wasn’t like she had a bad rap either; her disciplinary file was almost nonexistent, no more than half a page of minor infractions; barely worth mentioning. Nothing at all like Shepard’s own bulky file. All she had to go on was technical scores, all of them ranking in the top tenth of a percentile by the way, and a list of unit assignments.  Despite how tired she was, Shepard wanted to know more, and although she told herself it was so she could get a better understanding of the Chief as a soldier; she knew there was more to it than purely professional interest.

Down in crew quarters, Ashley was getting ready to hit the rack when the comm. channel sprang to life and XO Pressly’s dry voice came across. “Chief Williams, report to the Commander’s ready room. Chief Williams to the ready room.”Ash frowned and laced her boots back up then pulled her uniform jacket back on over her undershirt. Buttoning it, she made sure her appearance was impeccable according to alliance regs; making sure to tuck her hair back into its bun before she left the crew quarters and walked across the mess hall to where the commander’s ready room was located. _What on earth could Shepard want,_ she thought to herself. _I boarded the Normandy with her no more than an hour ago_. Pressing the call button, she waited outside the steel bulkhead until it swished open and the commander’s voice invited her in.

Shepard couldn’t stop a soft smile forming as Ashley entered her quarters; the first half of which doubled as her ready room. “Take a seat, chief.” Ashley nodded and moved to sit opposite her commander, still stiff as a board and uncertain why she’d been called in. Shepard held a datapad loosely in one hand and seemed to be scanning it briefly, before dropping it onto her desk and letting out a sigh of exasperation. “I’ve been reviewing your file and quite frankly, it doesn’t make an ounce of sense. With your technical scores and experience you should have at least an N4 rating by now but you’re still just a grunt marine. There’s no disciplinary record to hold you back, no reprimands from old CO’s... there’s nothing at all. I was hoping you could enlighten me a little.” Ashley felt her heart drop. _Here we go again,_ she thought to herself, _the Williams’ curse at work once more._ Shepard saw the crestfallen hunch of the chief’s shoulders and mistook it for apprehension. “You can speak freely, Williams. I’m just trying to get a handle on our crew. Tali and Wrex are virtual unknowns as well so I’ll be having this conversation with them too.”

Ashley gathered up her resolve and cleared her throat. “It’s nothing like that, ma’am. It’s just that... well; I’m General Williams’ granddaughter.” Shepard paused, trying to recall the name, and once she had it she flushed a little. General Williams, the only human ever to surrender to the turians during the First Contact War. Here she was trying to get to know Ash better and she’d inadvertently brought up the chief’s family shame. “Ah crap,” she muttered. “I’m sorry, Ash. I didn’t know that. I’m sorry I...” she paused, connecting the dots quickly and her embarrassment turned into outrage; not at Ashley, but on her behalf. “Wait, you mean to tell me the navy’s been holding you back just because you’re related to General Williams?” Erisa’s face darkened and she had to stop herself from flinging the datapad across the room. “Of all the boneheaded, stupid... honestly, I swear Alliance brass couldn’t organise a funeral in a fucking cemetery!”

Ashley was confused by Shepard’s initial apologetic reaction but soon realised the commander wasn’t holding her grandfather’s actions against her but was defending her against the discrimination she’d faced because of it. She felt a very unmilitary urge to hug the commander in that moment; the rest of her CO’s had treated her like crap just because of her family connection, never giving her a chance to prove herself. It very much looked like Shepard was going to be different, but she had to be sure. “So you don’t hold it against me? I mean, he _did_ disgrace the Alliance,” she said tentatively.

Shepard gave Ashley a flat look that very clearly called her out on what she’d just said. “You don’t believe that bullshit for one minute Ash, and neither do I. What your grandfather did was the only logical, tactical decision; surrendering the Shanxi garrison. I’d have done the same thing. The war was coming to an end and his decision saved the lives of every sailor, marine and civilian under his command. The Alliance needed a scapegoat to blame for something, anything, after they got us into a shooting war with the turians and the general’s actions looked just cowardly enough they could sacrifice him on the altar of public opinion and keep the people of Earth happy. It was a goddamn whitewash and we both know it. The fact the brass was happy to ignore your potential just because of your name pisses me off.”

The relief on Ashley’s face was clear, as was the gratitude and although she still didn’t understand what was so special about her that it had made Shepard open up, she was suddenly very glad the commander had. “Thanks, Shepard,” she said from the heart, “it means a lot to know you don’t blame me for what he did; that you don’t even think what he did was wrong.”

Erisa’s anger on Ashley’s behalf cooled at the chief’s words and she shrugged. “Well, I’m your commander now. So if we survive this mission, you can bet your ass I’m going to see to it you get into ICT. With your skills you belong in spec ops, not doing menial garrison duty beside fresh faced kids just out of basic.”

The chief tried to hide a smirk and failed, settling for a grin instead. “Thank you, ma’am, but they weren’t all bad. The 212 might have been grunts, but they were my grunts.” The grin turned morose as she remembered their loss again and she fell silent. Erisa cursed herself for her poor choice of words and reached across the gap between them, a gloved hand squeezing one of Ash’s. As much as she mightn’t have planned it; Shepard had to admit she’d goofed and made friends with the chief. She could feel the freshness of Ashley’s grief and loss like it was her own. Blinking her eyes several times to fight back the fresh tears, Ash smiled at the commander and turned her hand so she could squeeze Shepard’s; taking comfort in the other woman’s presence, knowing that Shepard understood what she was feeling. Silence fell; only the soft thrum of the engines could be heard as they sat together, hand in hand. It felt nice, the physical contact; but before it could get too uncomfortable, Ashley looked up with a soft grin, giving Shepard’s hand a brief squeeze.

“As long as I’m still speaking freely, Shepard... can I ask what’s with the glove?”

Erisa blinked at the question, unsure of how to respond. Had it been anybody else she’d have dismissed them immediately, telling them it was none of their damn business. But Ash wasn’t just anybody. Slipping her gloved hand free of the chief’s she held it in front of her, slowly turning it over; back and forth as she tried to decide what to do. _Ah, what the hell,_ she thought. Unbuttoning her cuff, she rolled up her uniform’s sleeve then gently peeled the alliance-blue nanotex glove down her hand, dropping it into her lap. Holding out her hand to Ashley, she let the chief take it in gentle fingers and explore the bare skin. It was badly scarred, the flesh pitted and bubbled as if it had been horribly burnt and the lighter coloured, ruined skin covered her entire left hand and reached up her arm; disappearing beneath the rolled up sleeve at her elbow. Ashley wondered at it, softly running her fingers over the scarred tissue before looking up at Shepard; amazed that the commander had kept the ruined arm and not opted for reconstructive surgery. “How far up does it go?” she asked breathlessly.

Shepard unsnapped her collar and pushed the left lapel to the side even as she turned her head to the right. Following her movements, Ashley could see the same mottled scarring peeking out from where the commander’s collarbone sat. “It was a gift, courtesy of Akuze.” Erisa’s voice was soft, almost trembling as she spoke. “Sergeant Ramone pulled me out of the way and the thresher maw’s spit caught my arm instead of my helmet. The Gunny saved my life that day. My hard suit took the worst of it but once the acid distorted the clips I couldn’t get the rest of it off fast enough. By the time he managed to cut off the arm plates and the sleeve to my pressure suit... this had happened.” Entranced by the glimpse she was getting into the worst chapter of her commander’s life, Ash touched the scarred flesh along Shepard’s forearm again. But this time, Erisa flinched and pulled her arm away. Ashley jerked her hand back and shot out of her chair as if she’d been burnt. The spell had been broken. “I-I’m sorry, ma’am.” Ash stammered hastily, “That was... I don’t know what...”

Shepard interrupted her, fumbling to slip the nanotex glove back on and roll down her sleeve. “That’s okay, there’s no need to apologise.” Erisa coughed to cover her own embarrassment. “That’ll be all for tonight, you’re dismissed chief.”  Ash nodded and saluted before beating a hasty retreat out of the commander’s quarters, struggling to understand what had just happened. For her own part, Erisa sat at her desk for a long time after the chief had left, the fingers of her right hand tracing the burning lines Ashley’s touch had left along the marred skin of her left arm. _What the hell is happening,_ she thought to herself over and over again. _I haven’t told anyone about that hellhole Akuze in six long years and here I am showing Ash my scars?_ Standing, she finished unbuttoning her jacket and tossed it onto the chair Ash had been sitting in. It was time to get some shut eye; the rest of the paperwork could wait until she’d had at least a few hours sleep.


	5. The Lake of Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> squint = slang for academic  
> XO = Executive Officer  
> LZ = Landing Zone  
> Sierra = Alliance slang for Synthetics  
> Mikes = Alliance slang for Mercenary  
> POI = Point of Insertion  
> EM = ElectroMagnetic  
> 'makende' = balls

She dreamt. Not the new, frightening dreams implanted in her mind by the Prothean beacon, of a galactic Empire at war; the starways burning as system after system was consumed by a nameless, terrible darkness but the old, familiar nightmares; filled with the rattle of gunfire, the screeching of threshers and the screams of dying soldiers. Her soldiers. After only a few hours of restless slumber Shepard awoke bathed in a light sweat, her heart pounding at the gruesome memories. Still tired, she swung her feet out of bed and sat there a while, waiting for the terrible images that had plagued her sleep for the last six years to subside. She’d almost have been happy to have endured the beacon’s visions again if it meant a night free from the memories of Akuze. Taking a quick shower, she changed into a fresh uniform and after grabbing a coffee and a bite to eat from the mess hall returned to her cabin. Time she started reading through what intel they had on Therum; they’d hit planetary orbit in only a few hours and she wanted to be prepared for what they were likely to face once they got groundside. 

 _Ok, Therum, what do we know..._  It had been a mining colony at one point, dealing in heavy metals until they’d uncovered a Prothean ruin... that must have been what attracted their mysterious doctor. Other than that there wasn’t really much else known about the planet, most of it was still uncharted. Well, what about the doctor herself? She was the only daughter of a Matriarch, born in 2077 _... Hmm, 106... young by Asari standards..._  and raised on Thessia, the Asari homeworld. She was a graduate of the University of Serrice with a dual Doctorate in History and Archaeology.  _Huh, a real squint... looks like she dived right into archaeological digs; at least she’s more of a hands-on type than a theoretical scholar._ She’d written a dozen papers on various Prothean topics...  _nothing on the Conduit, but a couple on the Prothean extinction._ That caught Shepard’s eye. Those might be worth a read at some stage... or at least a skim. The two papers that seemed most relevant were titled 'Vanishing Protheans: A Single Event within the Galactic Archaeological Cycles of Extinction' and 'Theorem on Prothean Extinction through Resolution of the Fermi Paradox via Exclusionary Evidence.' The commander shuddered, they sounded dry as hell. Maybe she’d get Pressly to read them; he could brief her on the salient points later. Sipping at her coffee, she sat back in her chair and pondered the situation. The problem was none of what they knew so far made any damn sense. Why the hell was Saren trying to bring back a race of sentient machines that had apparently hunted down and exterminated the last galactic civilisation? What did he stand to gain from it? And why had an Asari Matriarch joined his crusade? Perhaps the Salarian Councillor, Valern, had been right and Saren was using the promise of the Reapers return to solidify his alliance with the geth. Given his knowledge and experience as a Spectre and backed by an army of synthetic troops, Saren would certainly be able to create significant trouble for the Council and the independent races, perhaps even carve out his own little empire in the Traverse before embarking on a personal crusade to rid the galaxy of humankind. That strategy would fit with his profile as both a turian soldier and a human-centric xenophobe. But why then was Benezia involved? Conquest had never been the Asari method, they preferred to use their advanced technology and political power to effect change; they weren’t a militaristic race like the turians. Nothing Tevos had provided her with suggested Benezia had any animosity towards humanity, or any inclination towards secession from the Asari Republic or the Council. The Matriarch’s involvement with Saren was a complete mystery and Shepard hated mysteries, they were unknowns that couldn’t be planned for and she hated going into a fight not knowing all the variables. She could only hope that Doctor T’soni could provide the insight into Benezia she so desperately wanted. Just then her console buzzed, it was Joker giving her the two hour out call she’d requested. “Thank you, Moreau. Have the XO notify the ground team to gear up and assemble in the armory. Shepard out.”

\-------------------------------

Orbital scans had picked up a defunct mining complex on the surface of Therum that was emitting an unusually high energy output. High enough that it certainly warranted further investigation, and when the energy signature was compared to known samples it quickly returned as Prothean. They’d found their dig site but Shepard could only hope they were in time... whilst the Normandy’s stealth systems kept them invisible in orbit, ladar had picked up two other ships in the skies above the mining site; one a small corvette commonly used by mercenaries, the other a geth dropship. All of this had been displayed on the holoscreens in the armory as Shepard and the ground team of Chief Williams and Urdnot Wrex had been gearing up. Over the noise of armour being snapped into place, thermal clips, barrier units and medigel packs clipping onto belts and weapons dry cycling; Shepard laid out their plan. “We’ll be coming in low around here, some five klicks from the dig site. Joker will get us in close and the Mako will drop once we’re below radar. Our LZ is here, it’s a patch of highly ferromagnetic basalt which should keep the dropship and the corvette from registering our arrival. From there we hightail it to the dig site. We do not, I repeat do not; stop to engage any geth troops already groundside unless absolutely necessary. Scans indicate the ion trails from their engines are at least a day old, maybe two. That means they’ve got the jump on us so we get to the mine fast and neutralise anything that’s not an asari doctor. The mine itself was closed after the Prothean ruin was discovered so we can expect a null civilian presence. It’ll be just us, the target and whatever Sierras we find. That clear?” She was answered with a resounding “Hoo-rah!” and nodded curtly, clapping her hands. “Then let’s move it people, we got us a doctor needs rescuing!”

The trip from the LZ to the mining complex with the Prothean energy signature was a blitzkrieg, the highly manoeuvrable, heavily armed Mako dodging past geth armatures and rocket troops with Shepard at the wheel; zigging and zagging to keep plasma blasts and rockets from impacting on the APC’s shields. Several times Ashley had been forced to engage the geth’s ground troops with the Mako’s heavy machinegun in order to sweep the path and Wrex had taken great delight in using the fighting vehicle’s 40mm cannon to blast intercepting armatures out of the way. On the whole though, they made good time and outpaced the troops they’d blitzed past to arrive at the mine before a solid defence could be staged. Once again the Mako’s heavy machinegun and cannon spat and thundered until the approach to the dig site had been sterilized.

Popping the hatch, Shepard was out first, her Viper already assembled, and she scanned the site for anything they’d missed. Through her scope she saw nothing but rusted old mining equipment, abandoned packing crates and the twisted, burning remains of geth troops. “All clear.” Williams and Wrex piled out of the Mako after her and readied their weapons as Shepard relayed instructions to them through hand signals. Move up and secure mine entranceway. The two professional soldiers, one human and one krogan, nodded once and split up; taking flanking positions as they approached the mine shaft then crouched by its entrance; eyes scanning the battlefield for further hidden or incoming threats. The commander joined them and cautiously peered down the descending shaft. The angle of descent wasn’t too steep but dark tunnels were always a cause for concern. Coming in from the daylight, highlighted with the light at your back made you a perfect target, and your eyes couldn't adjust fast enough to the darkness to see worth a damn. 

They didn’t have time to wait for it to get dark outside so Shepard would have to take point. Her tactical cloak would negate the tunnel’s disadvantages but she’d be without support until she could verify the way forward was clear at the other end. The idea of walking alone into a cave that could be filled with mercs and geth didn’t thrill her, but if they were caught mid tunnel without cover or an exit it’d be a bloodbath. Keying on her mic, she relayed her orders to Wrex and Ashley. “I’ll take point and secure our POI then follow me in. Keep your eyes and ears open, we’ve got Sierras and possibly Mikes ahead. Let’s keep this quick, quiet and clean.”

Tapping a button on her omnitool, she waited until her cloak was fully engaged before she stepped into the mouth of the shaft. Lifting her Viper to her shoulder, she peered through the scope, utilising its magnification to inspect the other end of the tunnel. Nothing obvious leapt out at her so she began to move forward on silent feet. Halfway down the tunnel and she hadn’t set off any alarms or booby traps yet, so Shepard switched out her Viper for the Tempest SMG she used in CQB. The sniper rifle would be worse than useless in the mines; too long to manoeuvre efficiently and the rate of fire wouldn’t be nearly good enough. Making it to the tunnel mouth without enemy contact, she stepped onto a steel walkway and crouched down. From where she was she could make out three aerial rocket drones guarding the mouth of the shaft and below her on another walkway stood three geth soldiers, patrolling back and forth with standard issue Vindicator battle rifles. A passive scan through her helmet’s HUD revealed at least another ten geth signatures deeper inside the caverns.

Back at the entranceway, Ashley was waiting with Wrex for orders and she pressed her free hand to the side of her helmet as the comm. channel crackled. Deposits inside the mine were interfering with the commander’s transmission but it came through clear enough to understand. _“Three rocket drones... entrance... can disable two... reinforcements close by... will need you to close... my command.”_ Ash looked across to Wrex and the giant krogan nodded, readying his shotgun with armour piercing rounds, even as the chief selected disruptors for her assault rifle. “Okay, big guy,” she said enthusiastically, “you sweep left and I’ll take the right, we let the commander handle anything coming up the middle.” Wrex nodded and grinned evilly. “I like it, Williams. Doesn’t leave any survivors. I can respect a plan like that.”

Down in the tunnels, Shepard pulled a small, flat disc from off of her belt and readied the tech gadget. It was a sabotage pulse grenade; designed to knock out the targeting protocols of automated defence systems for a few seconds, giving the saboteur time to either retreat, get into position, or in this case; open fire without fear of being immediately auto targeted. Aiming carefully, she slid the disc across the steel grating of the walkway until it came to rest just under the centre drone and tapped the activation key on her omnitool. The pulse grenade discharged suddenly, an invisible wave of EM interference suddenly scrambling the drone’s systems and Shepard opened fire, the disruptor rounds in her Tempest tearing through the shields of the first two drones and slamming into their fragile metal casings; shrapnel tearing into delicate circuitry. That was the signal and back at the mine shaft’s entrance Ashley and Wrex began to doubletime it down the long corridor. The sudden presence of detectable life forms in the tunnel met the programmed parameters of the last surviving drone and it launched a salvo of rockets at the two approaching soldiers; but with its targeting software offline, the rockets veered off and harmlessly impacted the walls of the mine shaft. Ashley and Wrex came barrelling out of the cloud of smoke and dust and burst onto the steel walkway, each of them with weapon raised and ready to fire, the two of them overwhelming the last rocket drone with a deadly volley of rounds. The geth troopers on the lower walkway had already begun moving as soon as Shepard had attacked the drones, but weren’t yet in position and their enfilade ricocheted harmlessly off the rock walls and steel railings behind and in front of the three Normandy crew, only a few rounds making it through to flare and bounce off of their kinetic barriers. Taking a knee, Ash steadied her weapon and unleashed a burst of disruptor rounds directly into the chest of the nearest geth, smiling viciously as the electrically overcharged rounds caused havoc with the synthetics systems and dropped it to the walkway, smoking. Wrex took a more unconventional approach and unleashed a singularity right above the remaining two geth; letting the mass effect field pull them upwards into his field of fire where he finished them both off with close range blasts from his Eviscerator.

Monitoring her scans, Shepard detected the approach of several more drones and yanked her Viper out from over her shoulder. “We got incoming, find cover!” As the drones ascended from the depths of the mine, Shepard was ready for them and the first sailed right into her crosshairs. One squeeze of the trigger sent a disruptor round smashing right through its shields and outer skin, the electrical discharge of the round fusing its CPU and sending it dropping out of the sky to tumble four stories back to the mine floor. The other drones were too manoeuvrable though, and evaded her fire before launching their salvo of rockets. Before she could even think to throw herself out of the way, Erisa felt someone tackle her; strong arms around her as the two forms rolled into cover. Finding herself on her back on the cold steel walkway, she looked up to find the Chief above her, so close they were sharing breath and her heart raced. “I figured the command for cover meant you too, ma’am.” Williams grinned and Erisa couldn’t help but smile back. “Nice tackle, chief. Guess I owe you one.” From off to the side there came the repetitive booming of a shotgun and Wrex called out. “You two done horsing around? Cause if so, I’d like to go find more toasters to shoot. These flying ones don’t last long,” he grumbled unhappily.

Ashley rolled off of the commander and climbed to her feet, offering Shepard a hand up at the same time. Once they were all on their feet again and ready, they followed the system of walkways and staircases until they finally emerged into a small chamber, and it seemed like the end of the line until Wrex pointed out an elevator back in a dark corner. It seemed to be the only viable option, so they hesitantly climbed in and hit the button... the elevator groaned and started downward; sounding like it had definitely seen better days. Ash looked around at the cavern they were descending into and the great Prothean structure that had been unearthed so far. “I’ll say this for the Protheans,” she said, impressed, “they built to last. Looks like a lava flow poured in here. This place must have been active at some stage.” It was still a couple metres off the deck when it ground to a stop.  _So much for that,_ she thought to herself, _guess we’ll have to find another way back to the surface._   Wrex booted the gate open and they jumped down the last bit, onto the floor of a relatively large cavern. They worked their way around the corner on the ramp, and encountered a few more Geth, which they quickly dispatched.

As they approached the top of the ramp, Shepard held up a fist then raised a finger to her lips. She was sure she’d just heard a voice and she strained her ears against the silence until she heard it once more. "H-hello? Can you hear me out there? I... I'm trapped... please... I need help!"

Three figures walked around the corner to where there sat an immense blue energy barrier. Behind it, and within a bubble of the same blue energy, floated a young asari; suspended in what looked like some kind of security field. Thank God, Shepard thought to herself. I don’t know how but she managed to get herself someplace safe from the geth and whatever mercs are after her. This trip might have been for nothing otherwise. “Williams, Wrex, secure the area. Make sure any tincan we missed can’t double back and flank us.”

Trapped within the Prothean ruin’s security bubble, Doctor Liara T’soni stared out at who she hoped were her rescuers rather than yet more would-be executioners. At first she’d been terrified the geth were back to try and finish her off, they were being led by a Krogan Battlemaster and the appearance of Wrex had caused her to almost panic. _Goddess, it is the Krogan! No, a Krogan, but different. With... humans?_  Liara had little experience with humans, so tried to get a look at the one approaching. Based on the armour, it was a female, but Liara had no frame of reference for size; she couldn't exactly compare her to the Krogan standing next to her...he would make anyone look small. The armour was a mix of gloss blue and flat white detailing, with a white stripe that ran down the right sleeve. Photoprojectors dotted the armour’s outer skin and when coupled with the weapons array that focused heavily on the long range rifle attached to her back, it gave the approaching woman quite a menacing air. She had on a full helmet, but although the faceplate was open, the lighting in the room was such that Liara could not see her face through the shadows she cast.

The human regarded her silently a moment before pulling up a picture of the doctor on her omnitool’s holodisplay and comparing it to the asari. "Dr T'Soni?” The woman had only said two words but her tone conveyed authority and her voice had a wintry chill to it that brooked no argument.

"Um. Well...Yes. I am Liara T'Soni... How do you...uh...know...?" Liara stammered and fell silent, curious but not wanting to challenge or offend the speaker, lest they leave her here.

The Commander continued her line of questioning, as blunt and to the point as usual. "I'm Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy, and Council Spectre. Your mother is wanted by the Council for treason, for working with the rogue Spectre Saren Arterius and a Geth army to attack the human colony of Eden Prime. Are you working with them?"

Liara was taken aback.  _Surprised we know, or just surprised?_   "I am NOT my mother, and I have no idea what you are talking about. My mother and I haven't seen one another in decades. We are somewhat estranged." From her forlorn tone, it was apparent the Doctor was distressed... it wasn’t a subject she liked to discuss and it was one that hurt her to talk about like this. That was something Erisa could understand, she had more than her fair share of sensitive subjects but at least the doctor’s reaction told her what she needed to know. _OK, so Dr T'soni is unaware of her mother's involvement with Saren. Pity... could have used some intel. Still, at least T’soni will be able to give me some idea of what her mother’s like._

The commander placed her hands on her hips and shook her head, almost disappointed. "Damn. Well, at least Tevos will be pleased you’re not involved.” She looked at the blue barrier field and cocked her head to one side.  “How the hell'd you get yourself stuck in there, doc?"

The commander's voice and body language at least wasn’t threatening, and given the alternatives, the Asari decided to answer truthfully, hoping for assistance. "Oh Goddess, I was attacked by Geth... they have a Krogan Battlemaster with them! I ran in here to activate the barrier and the Krogan shot at me... I hit something wrong on the panel when I ducked... and well, you see the result. I cannot move....please, you must help me get out of here!"

The commander chuckled dryly as she spoke, crossing her arms over her chest and revealing two words stencilled on her armour in galactic standard; one on the left forearm and the other on the right. When standing as she was now, they read as _‘Ice Queen’._  "Oh I plan on it, Doctor. The Council wants you either in a cell or helping me track down your mother. I’ll leave that call up to you, though I’d prefer the help. I haven’t quite been able to get a handle on your mother yet... I’d appreciate any daughterly insights you might have to offer." Erisa tilted her head back the other way. “Of course, there’s always option three. That’s where you refuse to help and I just leave you here for the geth.”

Liara blinked. It was said so coldly, in such a matter of fact way that she almost believed it. _Would she... no, I’m worth far more to her alive even if I refused to help; which I’d be a fool to do..._ "I may be trapped, but I am not an idiot, Commander. Refusing to help you doesn’t benefit me in any way, agreeing to your terms keeps me alive at the very least, and gives me an opportunity to prove I’m not assisting this Saren person."

Erisa smirked from the shadows. "Good call, doctor. At least you're still thinking. You got any ideas on how to get you out of there?" She dropped her arms and looked around, gloved fingers dancing over her omnitool’s holokeys as she ran a multi-spectrum scan, trying to assess Liara’s predicament.

"The control panel is on the stand behind me. I'm just not sure how you are going to get to it. You have to find some way around this barrier. The Geth have made multiple attempts and have not succeeded yet. The barrier is resistant to weapons and biotics. I don't know what to tell you." The Asari sounded very sad and very tired, her voice cracking, and Shepard started to feel a hint of immediacy regarding the doctor’s situation. “How long you been stuck in there, Doctor? Our readings when we entered orbit indicated the geth have been here for maybe two days.”

Liara gave an exhausted sigh. _Goddess, had it only been that long?_ “I’ve been trapped in here ever since the Battlemaster and his geth found me, I hate to admit it but I’ve been fading in and out. It could easily have been several days, commander.”

Shepard swore in a language Liara couldn’t understand. "Ay, _makende_. Okay, so all we have to do is get around, or through, the barrier, figure out how to operate a prothean control panel, turn everything off and get out of here. That and most likely deal with a few geth and a krogan Battlemaster while we do it.” Erisa shook her head and muttered to herself. “Well, if it was going to be easy they wouldn’t have made me a Spectre. Don’t go anywhere Doctor; we'll be back as soon as we figure out what the hell to do next."

Before Liara could respond, Commander Shepard and her crew dropped out of sight, and Liara was alone again. Shepard, Wrex and Ashley took a look around the cavern they were in. It was multi-level, and there seemed to be a large open central column behind the Doctor. They just needed to figure out how to get to the other side, other than through the barrier. That's when Wrex saw the industrial sized mining laser. "Hey, Shepard! Look what I found! Why don't we just blast a hole through the wall? We don't need to go through the barrier... we'll just tunnel straight through the rock!"

Shepard came over to inspect the giant krogan’s find. "It could work. Nice find, Wrex. Give me a second to check over its settings and run a diagnostic. This thing’s probably been shut down ever since they broke through to the substrata containing the first Prothean finds.” Working quickly, Shepard stripped off the mining laser’s outer casing and double checked its systems before booting it up. “I want to make sure we don’t overtax the system and blow ourselves to hell.” Her eyes flicked up towards where Liara was trapped. “I’d also prefer not to do too much damage to the existing structure and bring this whole bloody mine down on us.” The diagnostic checked out and after tweaking the power feed to the main cutting lens, Erisa triggered the huge mining tool. The air thrummed a few times with the immense power output of the laser and then Shepard hit the kill switch. “How’s it look?” she hollered out to the rest of her team. Wrex gave her a thumbs up from his position near the laser’s cutting end and Ashley confirmed it. “Nice job commander, we punched right through to the other side. I can see the prothean tech just ahead.”

A brief, scrambling climb later, and Shepard was standing behind Liara at the barrier control panel. Hmm, odd. She’d have expected the controls to be in Prothean, but she had no trouble understanding the alien console. She punched a couple of buttons and the barrier and biotic field both collapsed, dropping Dr Liara T'soni unceremoniously to the ground with a yelp of surprise and pain. "Ah, okay. That’s on me. Sorry doctor, should've warned you." Erisa offered her a hand and pulled Liara up into a sitting position, before she ran her omnitool over the exhausted asari; batting away Liara’s weak attempt to stop her. Analysing the scan data, she frowned. "Onset dehydration, minor exhaustion... a few bumps and scrapes. You’ll live.” Shepard handed the asari her canteen and an energy bar. “Here, drink a little and eat something. Take small sips and little bites.” A grateful Liara took them both and started to drink, sipping at first but soon her powerful thirst overtook her and she started chugging; forcing Shepard to pull the canteen away from her. This close, Liara was able to see the commander’s face properly, dark, moody eyes staring at her from out of a hard, cacao-dark face. "Hey, I said sip.” The human’s voice wasn’t exactly angry, but her tone was stern. “Drink too much too fast and you'll send your system into shock. Take it easy, Doctor, you're alright now.”

Liara took time out to breath and threw a question out before she resumed drinking; sipping slowly as instructed. "Commander, how did you get back here, and how did you turn off the barrier so quickly?"

"Wrex here found the mine’s drilling laser. I gave it a once over to make sure it still worked then adjusted the power levels so we could tunnel through;  after that we climbed up the back side to access this level. As for turning the barrier off, well, the buttons are pretty obvious, don't you think?" Liara looked very confused, but there was no time for questions, as the ground suddenly rumbled and rocks started pelting down from the ceiling.

Liara looked panicked and she blurted out, "The mining laser must have triggered seismic activity, these tunnels are very unstable! We have to get out of here! Now! The elevator behind us links up to the walkway leading outdoors!"

"Alright people, you heard the lady, time to move out!" They ran to the elevator and Liara started its motion upward. The closer the elevator got to the top of its shaft; the louder Shepard’s survival instincts started to yell at her. She didn’t need even need a scan to confirm what she knew they were saying. “Dammit! We got Sierras waiting for us people! Ashley, right flank! I want concentrated disruptor fire the minute you spot a toaster! Wrex, you take the middle ground! Bottle up the bulk of them with a singularity then focus fire on the biggest threat; we’ll key off of your targeting!” Already pulling out her Viper and selecting armour piercing rounds, Shepard turned to Liara. “I’m going to need you to get down behind the console now, Doctor. Make yourself as small as you can and don’t look up until the shooting stops.” Not quite knowing exactly what was going on, Liara just nodded and took her own position; using some of the little strength she had left to draw up a protective biotic barrier about herself. The last thing she saw was Shepard giving her a chill smile as she disappeared beneath her tactical cloak.

With a great jolt as the rock moved and shifted around them, the elevator came to a halt at the top with a terrible ‘clank’ of finality. Crouched behind packing crates were a good half dozen geth troopers, but what was truly disheartening was the size of the krogan waiting for them. Shielded by her tactical cloak, Erisa was already sighting on the big bastard when he began to speak, perhaps a little too confident that he had the advantage. "Surrender. Or don’t, that’d be more fun.” he said, addressing Wrex as he mistook the other krogan for the one in command and Ashley for a random merc rather than the marine she was.

“Hold your fire, Ash,” Shepard whispered into her mic. “Let Wrex call the play on this.” Slowly, without letting the krogan bounty hunter slip from her crosshairs; Erisa eased another pulse grenade from her belt and set it to overload. Wrex meanwhile just grinned as he levelled his shotgun at the other krogan. ”Yeah, that ain’t happening,” he stated flatly before grinning that wide, toothy grin of his. “You want the Asari; you’re going to have to come get her. That is, if you got the quad.” His crass insult and their perceived weakness did the trick and the krogan bounty hunter roared in anger and charged towards Wrex. For his part, the giant from Clan Urdnot tossed a quick singularity at the geth troopers to the right whilst Shepard flicked her wrist and tossed an overload grenade amidst the troopers to the left. Battle commenced. On the right, the singularity burst into existence and pulled the three geth into the air, helpless to return fire and easy prey for Ash, who drilled all three with tight bursts of disruptor fire. To the left, Erisa’s overload exploded right on target, sending powerful bolts of electricity surging into all three remaining geth, confusing sensors and overpowering systems long enough for Shepard to drop each of the geth with a precise shot that punched clean through their power cores. In the middle of the elevator shotgun blasts rang out as the two krogan closed on one another; the heavy, close quarters weapons shredding kinetic barriers and tearing into heavy armour. “At last,” bellowed Wrex, “a real fight!” The two krogan had closed now, trading thunderous punches and each grappled to keep the other’s shotgun barrel from unleashing their metal storms at one another. The bounty hunter was good, there was no disputing that, but unfortunately for him, Wrex was better. With one hand gripping his shotgun and the other closed about the barrel of the bounty hunter’s weapon, Wrex stepped in close and delivered a crushing headbutt, the impact staggering the smaller krogan, and in the brief respite, he released his grip on the bounty hunter’s shotgun and drew a wicked looking jak’tha blade from its sheath on his chest. Capitalising on his forward momentum, he drove the jagged knife into the other krogan’s neck, just above the hard suit. The bounty hunter screamed and tried to wrench free and bring his weapon to bear, but Wrex was too quick and jammed the mouth of his Eviscerator under the krogan’s chin and pulled the trigger. The enemy Battlemaster’s head disappeared in a messy cloud of bone, shrapnel and blood; the body collapsing to the side like a falling mountain. “Hmph,” Wrex sniffed and spat to the side, disappointedly. “I’ve fought Vorcha with better moves. And he called himself a Battlemaster...”

By now the ground was seriously shaking and the metal walkways were starting to buck and sway badly. They didn’t have time to stop and marvel at Wrex’s prowess, and Shepard barked out more orders. “Ash, take point! Wrex, escort the good doctor out of here, keep her safe, we need her! Now RUN!” Shepard yelled, grabbing Liara by the arm and roughly shoving her in front of Wrex. As she ran on unsteady walkways, being tossed this way and that with every jolt and shake of the collapsing cavern, she opened a channel to the Normandy. "Moreau, lock on my signal and get here ASAP! I think we just pissed off a volcano and if you ask me, it’s taking the whole thing a little too personally!" Shepard did not wait for a reply, and starting running for her life. She caught up quickly to Wrex and Liara, the giant krogan now carrying the asari like she was a child, her exhaustion and dehydration obvious. Finally they saw daylight ahead and the three of them poured on the speed, making it out into the open air as a great rush of wind followed them from the crumbling mines.

The Normandy was already there, hovering as close as she could to the rock shelf they’d emerged onto. Ashley had jumped on board and Wrex had just thrown the exhausted Dr. T'soni up onto the loading ramp when an explosion rocked the hillside and part of the cliff above them gave way and came tumbling down towards them. “Shepard!” Ashley called out, pointing down to the floor of the ravine behind them. “We got company!” Glancing over her shoulder, the commander saw a small contingent of geth rocket troopers flooding the ravine’s basin and soon the air was filled with rockets. While Wrex jumped to the Normandy, Shepard dropped to one knee and opened fire with her Viper, cycling the rifle as fast as she could. Dropping the closest three platforms wielding rocket launchers, she then turned and ran towards the edge of the rock shelf. A sharp crack rang out across the stony landscape, echoing off the rock walls and even before she felt the pain, Erisa knew what had happened. A geth sniper had taken its shot during a perfect window of opportunity.  The high powered round punched straight through her barrier and pierced the thinner ceramic plating on her left thigh. Time slowed down, she could see the blood spray out from the front of her leg as the bullet exited her thigh and she stumbled. Too close to the lip of the ledge to stop, she gave a scream as she pushed past the pain and took a running leap...  and fell short.  

Ashley, along with two other marines, had been firing rapidly into the body of geth troops beneath the Normandy; trying to force them into cover and keep rockets from impacting the ship. Wrex had already run inside, carrying the exhausted asari archaeologist to safety, leaving Ash to watch with her heart in her throat as she saw Shepard get hit by the sniper’s bullet and stumble forward. “Shit, she’s not going to make it!” Dropping her rifle, Ash snatched up an emergency belaying line from the cargo winch next to the loading ramp and secured it to her hard suit’s belt even as she ran. One, two, three steps were all it took and she launched herself out into the air in a desperate bid to catch Shepard before she fell.

 Falling, Shepard suddenly felt another body collide with hers and strong arms wrap around her. In a tangle of limbs, the two bodies plummeted towards the molten lava that was flooding the basin beneath the Normandy until, with a sudden jerk, they stopped falling. Shepard almost slipped and fell, but she wrapped her arms tightly around her rescuer and clung on for dear life, looking up to see Ashley’s sweat streaked face grinning at her, the expression a mix of fear, relief and exhilaration. “I got you, ma’am. Just hold on!” The Normandy swung away from the collapsing volcano and soon she felt movement as they were hoisted back up into the ship. Hands grabbed the both of them and dragged them onto the loading ramp and with her arms wrapped about the chief; Shepard smiled at Ashley, a genuine smile that reached her eyes. It was filled with warmth and gratitude. “You bucking for a promotion, chief? That’s... two I... owe... you.” Those were the last words she said before passing out in Ashley’s arms, the shock and blood loss taking their toll. Still holding the commander, Ash screamed out for a medic, even as the ship’s ramp closed and the Normandy tilted into a steep climb, Joker pointing the ship’s nose up and gunning the engines to get them into orbit, away from the still erupting volcano.

 By the time they’d levelled out enough to be able to stand, Ash and one of the alliance corpsmen had already carried the unconscious Shepard to the elevator. As they waited for the interminably slow ride up to the crew deck, Ash held the unconscious commander as the corpsman unbuckled the damaged thigh plate and tossed it aside before applying a liberal amount of medigel to both the entrance and exit wounds in Shepard’s leg and sealed them shut with a temporary pressure bandage. As soon as the lift stopped they carried her into the medbay and laid her on an exam table. Ash stepped back to let Doctor Chakwas work. Over on another table a corpsman was administering an IV to the asari to combat her dehydration and small medigel imprinted bandages to deal with the various cuts and bruises she’d sustained. Wrex sat on a third table, looking distinctly unhappy as a rather timid looking medic tended to a shrapnel wound in his side from one of the shotgun blasts. “Honestly kid,” he grumbled in his deep, gravelly voice, “there’s no need. It’s hardly a flesh wound. It’ll regenerate before you know it.”

Doctor Chakwas looked over to him sternly, peering down her nose at him as she began scanning the commander’s wounds. “Be that as it may, Urdnot Wrex, you are officially a Normandy crewman and that makes your health my responsibility as ship’s chief medical officer. So you will sit there quietly and let my staff do their job or so help me, I will confine you to quarters. Do you understand me?” Her strong British accent made her proclamation sound all the more final and the big krogan gave up. “Fine, whatever you say, Doc.” The adrenaline from battle and her insane midair leap to save the commander was beginning to wear off now, and Ash started to shake as she stood in the corner. Looking down at her hands, she could see they were covered in Shepard’s blood; as was most of her right leg. Karin looked over at her briefly and pointed her to the last bed in the medbay. “You too, Chief Williams. I dare say your heroics may have saved the commander’s life but I want a corpsman to check you over. There’s no telling what damage the sudden deceleration from your fall’s arrest might have done.” Her look softened a little as she saw the way Ash was looking at the commander, her face pinched with concern and worry. “Don’t worry, Ashley. Shepard has proven very hard to kill. I doubt a simple leg wound will do what Akuze could not.”

Williams nodded blankly and took a seat on the exam table beside Shepard’s. She hardly noticed as one of the medics assisted her in peeling off the hard suit’s heavy outer plating and she all but ignored the scans that gave her a relatively clean bill of health. At most, she would have some bruising around her waist where she’d taken the brunt of the sudden stop but she’d already figured that out; didn’t need a medic to tell her that. Instead, she watched with consternation as Chakwas worked diligently on Shepard, cleaning up both the entry and exit wounds in her thigh as well as going in deeper to repair damage to her muscle tissue, nerves and vascular system. As she watched, Ash found her mind drifting back to the smile Shepard had given her. It had been so open and warm; she could even feel the commander’s arms still wrapped around her, clinging to her tightly. _What the hell, Ash,_ she thought to herself. _You’re not into girls so why the hell are you starting to crush on your commander, of all people?_ Then she remembered the way Shepard had seemed to open up only to her, the way the normally cold and unapproachable Commander Shepard, the Ice Queen of the Normandy, had allowed her to see glimpses not only of a painful and private past, but of the real person beneath the layers of armour, a woman with a wicked sense of humour, a poet’s soul and sparkling eyes. She had to admit it did make her feel... special. Like Shepard trusted only her. Hell, the commander had even defended her grandfather’s actions instead of condemning her for them and Ash tried to hide a guilty smile. _Oh, maybe that’s why._ Not that it would ever come to anything of course, Shepard was her CO after all, there were regs against fraternizing and despite the crush, Ash wasn’t into girls. Though she didn’t sound quite as convinced of that the second time she said it to herself. Reaching out across the space between exam tables, she took the commander’s gloved hand and squeezed it gently, willing her to wake up. Eagle-eyed as ever, Karin Chakwas pretended not to notice and hid a small smile.

\-------------------------------------

With a gentle groan, Erisa began to stir and come to. She was still groggy as all hell thanks to the anaesthetic and painkillers, but after a while of just lying there and breathing slowly, she began to get her wits back. The first thing she noticed was Ashley. The chief was sat beside her in one of the medbay’s more uncomfortable chairs, but despite that she was asleep, an open book slumped against her chest and her eyes closed as she breathed rhythmically. Shepard’s first instinct was to reach out to her, but as she tried moving, she felt a light touch put her hand back on her chest. Looking at the hand in question, she followed it back up the arm it was attached to until she saw Karin standing above her, smiling softly. “Welcome back, commander.”

Shepard tested her voice, and finding it wasn’t too hoarse, spoke quietly, trying not to wake the chief. “How... how long?”

Karin checked the med bay’s chrono as she started to look over the medical bed’s scanners, double checking the commander’s vitals. “Ten hours, maybe a little more. You took a bad shot to the left thigh but it was a clean through and through, minimal tissue trauma, and no nerve or bone damage. You’ll need to stay off that leg for a few days at least though, give the damage time to heal.” Chakwas recognised the defiant look entering the commander’s eyes and her voice became more authorative. “That’s an order, commander. Three days off that leg, non negotiable. If you rush it, you’ll only end up worse off. Take the time to heal up now and I won’t have to extend your stay in medbay. You’re on restricted duties until I say otherwise, understood?” Shepard released a huffy sigh and nodded. “Okay, doc. How are the others?”

Karin smiled at her small victory over the commander’s usually stubborn streak and retrieved her clipboard. “Wrex had several small flesh wounds, likely gunshots. Thanks to his krogan physiology they’re all but healed by now. I discharged him hours ago. Doctor T’soni came in with mild dehydration and exhaustion as well as a small collection of lacerations and contusions. She’s receiving fluids and is resting comfortably in bed four. Other than letting her sleep, there’s not much more I can do for her.” Shepard looked over at the sleeping form next to her bed. “And Ash?”

The doctor had to hide a small smile; the Commander Shepard she’d known for the last six years would have never referred to anyone under her command by their first name. “Chief Williams is on light duties for the next two days. Her heroic rescue of you caused severe bruising about her waist and lower abdomen, I’m waiting to see if there are complications to her kidneys and or liver function but so far she seems to be in the clear.” Pausing, the doctor studied the way Erisa watched Ashley with concern and decided to give the commander the gentlest of nudges. “She hasn’t left your side ever since she brought you in. I had to order her out of medbay so we could get you into surgery and even then she wouldn’t go. I had to have a pair of marines escort her out. She’s been right there ever since we brought you back into recovery.” That should be enough, Karin decided; it was no more than the truth, after all. “Get some rest commander.” With that, she patted Shepard’s shoulder and moved off to finish the post op. paperwork.

Erisa turned her head and watched Ashley as she slept. She looked at the chief, really looked at her, as if desperately trying to commit the brunette’s features to memory. Her eyes trailed over Ash’s fine cheekbones and strong jaw, the curve of her brow and the way her brown hair fell in waves over her face now it was out of its military regulation bun. She found herself looking at Ash’s soft lips and she remembered the way the woman’s fingertips had felt on her scarred forearm and hand; she remembered the way Ash always smelt like shampoo and gun oil and the tease of her breath against her own cheek when the chief had tackled her. Lastly... lastly she remembered that Ashley had jumped out of the Normandy with nothing but a cable to save her own sorry ass from plummeting into a lake of lava. She remembered feeling Ash’s arms around her and for the first time in six years, feeling truly safe. _Aw hell,_ she swore to herself. _What the hell have I done now?_  It wasn’t like she wasn’t into girls; she’d always been bisexual, she’d just never made an issue of it, never let it define her. She was a marine first; who she bunked with didn’t affect that one bit and never would. _Except for now,_ she had to ruefully admit to herself. _When the one person I wanna bunk with is another marine under my command._ If she’d had the energy she’d have groaned at the sheer mass of her own stupidity. Instead, she drifted back to sleep, thinking of Ashley Williams’ lips.


	6. Quite the Diverse Crew...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> XO = Executive Officer  
> swabbie = slang for sailor  
> jarhead = slang for marine  
> ICT = Interplanetary Combatives Training

It was another twenty four hours until Chakwas even considered letting Shepard out of the medbay, and that was only after fitting a microservo-actuated leg brace to the commander; the sturdy leg struts doing most of the lifting and walking for her. First things first she grabbed a quick meal from the mess hall, the food in medbay was loaded with nutrient pastes and supplements to assist in rapid healing but they made the food taste like crap. After she’d eaten she’d do the rounds, let the crew see her and know she was alright. Shepard also wanted to speak to the members of her ground team separately. She had yet to assess Tali’zorah’s capabilities in the field but Wrex had lived up to his reputation and her concerns about his ability to operate as part of a team were fading. He’d done well to integrate into an Alliance-protocol fire team back on Therum and he had a good head for strategy; having goaded the krogan bounty hunter into a one on one fight that had let her and Ash focus on removing the geth troopers from the equation. More importantly though, she needed the face time with her disparate crew members in order to assess and understand their motivations. Once she knew those she’d have an insight into how best to utilise her ground team. It would sound harsh, even uncaring, to an outsider but just like the Normandy, her rifle and her hard suit; the team members she’d gathered together were tools and you didn’t start to build something without knowing how to use each individual component.

Wrex was clearly a hammer, meant for brute force options. She’d have a clearer idea of how best to use Tali’zorah and Garrus Vakarian after speaking to them, but she had a hunch that whilst Vakarian would be a scalpel, Tali was an entire toolbox. Before she was finished eating though, Kaidan approached her table and she looked up at him, waiting to hear what he had to say.

“Good to see you back on your feet, ma’am, so to speak. You had us worried for a moment there. Just came by to give you an update. The XO has us in a holding pattern around the Artemis Tau relay and several messages have come through the Alliance priority one channel for you; Joker has them buffered in the comms log for you to review when you’re ready.” Shepard nodded, about to dismiss him, then paused as she thought better of it. “Take a seat, Alenko. Chakwas has me on restricted duties for three days so I’m going to need you to pick up some slack until she clears me.”

Kaidan took a seat opposite Shepard, his expression a little confused. “Surely that’d be better suited to XO Pressly, wouldn’t it ma’am?”

She shook her head, absently rubbing her bandaged leg as it itched. “No, he’s got enough to do running the ship. Besides, you’re more suited to what I have in mind. The XO is a good man but he doesn’t have any time in the field. He’s a swabbie, not a jarhead like us. I’m trying to get a sense of where the crew's at. Any thoughts?”

The lieutenant frowned briefly before replying. “Is this an official evaluation, commander? Or off the record?”

Shepard snorted quietly and picked up her coffee, finishing it off. “Like I've got the time to write you up. If you’ve got something to say Alenko, say it.”

“Fair enough, commander.” Alenko cleared his throat and continued. “Truth is, as far as the crew’s concerned there's something wrong with all of this. Saren is looking for records on some kind of galactic extinction. But we can't get backup from the Council? Sorry Commander there's writing on the wall here but someone isn't reading it.”

Erisa nodded slowly, her cold expression filling with resignation. “Yeah, that sounds about right. The Council's been the big dog in the galaxy for over two millennium now LT, they can't comprehend the fact there might be someone bigger, and with a nastier bite. They don't want to believe anything's wrong. I'd call it human nature but...” She left the comment hanging in the air, open to interpretation.

Kaidan nodded in agreement. “I hear ya. I... It just seems like a group that's been around that long should see this coming. I guess no one likes to hear they're not as tough as they thought. Sorry if I got too informal. Protocol wasn't a big focus back in BAaT.”

The commander wracked her brain trying to remember the acronym. “That's Biotic Acclimation and Temperance training, right? Out on Gagarin Station? Didn’t have anything to do with that myself, not being biotic and all. Infiltrators get most of their training down in South America; they ship us straight from the Recruit Training Depot in Macapâ, Brazil up to Fort Pedro Dâvila, in Panama.” She went silent again and Kaidan thought she was done talking but unusually for the commander, she offered more. “You'll have to tell me about it sometime, LT. In the meantime however, I trust you won't have any questions when what's coming hits the fan?”

“None. I'm not questioning the mission, ma'am. I'm just concerned. You won't have to worry about me, Commander.” Kaidan stood up from the small table and saluted. That drew the smallest of smiles from Shepard and she returned the gesture. “That's all I needed to hear, LT.”

Clearing away her mess tray, she checked the duty roster on her omnitool then headed for engineering, one deck down. It was where their young quarian had been stationed and given her affinity for tech it was probably where she’d do the Normandy the most good. Hobbling into the humming engine bay she had to pause and marvel once again at the Tantalus drive core; a miracle of cross species engineering, only possible thanks to the innovations the joint turian/human engineering team had made. Her appreciation of the core was interrupted when Tali’zorah spotted her and almost ran over; the enthusiasm of youth bubbling out of her. “Your ship's amazing, Shepard. I've never seen a drive core like this before. I can't believe you were able to fit it into a ship this small. I'm starting to understand why you humans have been so successful. I had no idea Alliance vessels were so advanced!”

Despite herself, Shepard gave Tali a smile. It was hard to keep her cold, Ice Queen persona intact around the lively teenager. “They're not. The Normandy's a prototype, a joint Turian-Human experiment. She's cutting edge technology; best the Hierarchy and the Alliance have.”

Tali shrugged and continued talking a mile a minute, her eagerness unabated. “Still, a month ago I was patching a makeshift fuel line into a converted tug ship in the flotilla. Now I'm standing in one of the most advanced vessels in Citadel space. I have to thank you again for bringing me along. Travelling on a vessel like this is a dream come true for me.”

Erisa forced her faint smile away and gave the quarian a more sombre look. “Don't thank me quite yet, we're chasing a rogue Spectre and his geth army, remember. You might regret this. I knew you were a techie but I had no idea you found ship technology quite so interesting.”

“It comes with being a quarian. The Migrant Fleet is the key to the survival of my people. Ships are our most valuable resource.” Tali waved her hands around to encompass all of the engineering deck. “But we don't have anything like this. We make do with cast offs and second-hand equipment. We just try to keep them running for as long as we can. Some of the Fleet's larger vessels date all the way back to our original flight from the geth.”

The last remark caught Shepard attention and she couldn’t keep the astonishment out of her voice. “What? I can't believe your fleet's still using ships that are three centuries old.”

Tali just shrugged again, as if it were commonplace to keep vessels in service that long. “They are constantly being repaired, modified and refitted. They aren't pretty but they work. Mostly. We've tried to make ourselves as independent as possible on the flotilla. Grow our own food, mine and process our own fuel. But some things we just can't make on our own. A patch to maintain the hull integrity requires raw materials we just don't have. That's why our Pilgrimages are so important.”

Shepard thought she caught a glimpse of what the young quarian meant and understanding began to dawn on her. “So they're an opportunity to acquire new materials then? I thought the flotilla would simply purchase any raw material it required. If you're anything to go by then your people certainly seem technically skilled enough to fill any number of positions in major research firms or shipyards.”

It was hard to read the quarian’s expressions through her suit, but the commander thought she saw the girl’s shoulders droop a little. “It's not quite as simple as that, commander. My people created the geth, after all, and we've been viewed with suspicion ever since. As a result we've become quite an insular society. When my people reach maturity, we leave our birth ships and seek acceptance with a new crew. It's necessary to maintain genetic diversity amongst the fleet. But no ship wants to accept someone who will be a burden on them. So, to prove our worth, we embark on a Pilgrimage. We set out alone, leaving our families and friends behind us. We only return once we have found something of value we can bring back to the fleet. This is presented as a gift to the captain of the respective ship we wish to join. If the gift is accepted, we are welcomed into the crew.”

Shepard had to wonder at the practicality of such a tradition, especially in a society so dependent on its next generation. “So they just send you off out into the galaxy alone? Don't come back until you find something good?”

Something like a chuckle or a giggle came out of the voice synthesizer in the quarian’s helmet and Shepard got the feeling she’d misread something. “It's not like they just cast us out, Shepard. Before we leave we are given lessons in how to survive outside the flotilla, and given gifts to help us on our journey. We also receive implants to help us fight off sickness and disease. Generations of living in an isolated and highly controlled environment have left our immune systems weaker than most. By the time we leave the fleet we are well-equipped for the Pilgrimage.” Tali continued to explain. “This is a rite of passage for all quarians. If it were dangerous, our numbers would suffer. Virtually every Pilgrimage ends with a triumphant return and the ritual presentation of the gift to one of the fleet's captains.”

Well, that made more sense, she thought. “Okay, I can guess I can see the logic, and the necessity, in that. Does a captain ever choose to reject the gift?”

The young teen wrung her hands for a moment, and then dropped them to her side, her voice a little more subdued, as if the topic wasn’t a comfortable one. “That doesn't happen often. Most captains are eager to increase the size of their crew. It increases their own standing in our society. Even when a gift is not particularly valuable, the captain usually accepts it out of a sense of tradition. However, there is a stigma to presenting a sub-standard gift. It's not the best way to make a good impression on a new community. Most Pilgrims don't return until they find something worthwhile.”

“Well, I think helping stop Saren and his geth from bringing back the Reapers should be good enough. Providing we survive this, you should be good to go.”

Tali shook her head. “It won't be quite that easy, I'm afraid. Ever since we fled Rannoch our society has, as I said, become very insular. Stopping Saren may well prevent our destruction, but it won't be seen as having any material value to the flotilla. I need to take back something that will help my new ship in particular or at least my people in general.”

It was Erisa’s turn to shrug for once. “Well, we're following leads all over the Traverse, Feros and Noveria especially. Chances are good you'll find something wherever we go. Good luck in your hunt, just don't let it interfere with your duties. Stopping the coming storm is our only priority, everything else is secondary, understand?”

Tali’s voice became very solemn and she drew herself up. “I do, Commander. Don't worry, my Pilgrimage can wait.” Shepard nodded in return then gave Tali a faint smile. “Carry on, crewman Nar Rayya.”

Leaving the engineering deck, Shepard caught sight of Wrex coming out of the elevator and sped up her hobble, catching up to him only slowly. The big krogan turned to look at her and then glanced down to her heavily braced leg. “How’s the scratch?” he rumbled in his deep profundo basso. Erisa grimaced a little. “Sore, but I’ve had worse. Chakwas said you took a few hits when we were getting Doctor T'soni out of there.”

Wrex grinned and laughed, a big booming sound that nearly filled the hold. “Ha! Don't worry about me, Shepard. Was hardly a scratch, I’m all better now. Krogan regeneration is a wonderful thing.”

“I bet,” she said sardonically as she followed the big krogan across the hold towards where he was bunked. Standing at something near seven and a half feet and weighing probably six times what a human did, given body mass and armoured plates, there was no possibility of finding a bunk for the giant Battlemaster in crew quarters so they’d had to set up quarters for him in the cargo hold. “Alright Wrex, she continued, “so what’s your story?”

The huge krogan grunted and shut down the question bluntly. “There is no story. Go ask the quarian if you want stories.” Her gut however, told her different. It also told her a gentle hand was going to be the best way to handle Wrex in nearly every aspect. The last thing this mission needed was a pissed off Battlemaster tearing holes in the Normandy.

“If you say so, Wrex, but I don’t believe that for a minute. You Krogan live for centuries, smart money says you’ve had at least a few interesting adventures.” Wrex gave her a sidelong glance through squinted, reptilian eyes. “Don’t push it, Shepard.” He grunted again and finally relented. “Well, there was this one time the Turians almost wiped out our entire race. That was fun.”

Shepard caught the warning look in his eyes and tread carefully. “You mean the Genophage, don't you. You hear stories about it, but no one ever wants to talk about it. What happened?”

“The damn turians and salarians is what happened. We saved the galaxy from the Rachni and what was our thanks? A genetic mutation. An infection that makes only a few in a thousand children survive birth and is destroying my entire species.” The anger creeping into his voice was palpable and Erisa found herself wondering if the giant Battlemaster would be able to work side by side with Vakarian.

“Damn...” she said in a hushed tone, “that’s pretty fucking extreme. I’m sorry Wrex, I wasn't trying to get you upset. Didn't mean to open any old wounds.”

Wrex looked down at her and blew out a sigh to release the tension. It sounded like a pneumatic cylinder rupturing. “Your ignorance doesn't upset me, Shepard, at least you're asking questions, trying to understand us. That’s more than the Council ever did. As for the krogan, I gave up on them long ago. The genophage infected us, but it's not what's killing us.” As much as she wanted to ask what he meant by that, the finality it was said with was a clear sign he was done talking about it; at least for now. Instead, she nodded and punched an armour plated shoulder gently. “Take care then, big guy. See you at the debriefing once our new passenger is cleared by medical.”

Turning, she intended to make for the lift but caught sight of Ashley working at the armoury station and instead found herself watching the chief from a distance; her emotions suddenly thrown to the front. She knew now that she was without a doubt physically attracted to Ash, but what scared her the most was the emotional attraction. For six years, ever since Akuze, she had built walls and kept everyone out; she’d become cold and hard, never letting anyone close enough to care about them until she’d infamously earned the nickname ‘Ice Queen’. Her walls were her armour, she’d always thought they’d kept her safe; but when she was near Ashley Williams she invariably let them down. Over the last day, trapped in that hospital bed, she’d been forced to admit to herself that she cared about Ash. She cared what Ash thought of her, she worried about the idea of Ash being hurt on this mission. Yet what terrified her the most was a fleeting memory, of feeling safe in Ash’s arms. For six long, hard years she had dealt with the aftermath of the hellscape that had been Akuze and never in all that time had she managed to get back to a place where she’d felt safe, able to let down her guard. It scared her that that place might instead be a person; a person she could never be with.

And so she froze, for once not knowing what to do. She knew she should pull back from the chief, start putting up her walls again but the very thought of it made her sick. Ashley was her friend and she couldn’t stomach the thought of hurting Ash with that kind of rejection. Logic told her Ashley was a junior non-com under her command, and there was no way she could have a relationship with the chief without breaking a half dozen regulations. And that was presuming Ashley even felt the same way; hell, for all she knew Ash was straight as an arrow. Erisa knew what she wanted to do, just as she knew what she should do... but right now she had no idea what she was going to do.

Across the cargo hold, Ashley Williams stood at the armoury station, where she was responsible for breaking down and maintaining the ground team’s personalised weapons. Along with Petty Officer Postle she also outsourced new modifications for their weaponry and hard suits, as well as both omnitools and bio amps for the specialists like Alenko and Tali’zorah. As she worked away quietly, stripping down the commander’s Viper and cleaning it, Ash’s mind wandered over its own revelations. It was intensely... different for her, the realisation that instead of broad shoulders and a strong jaw, she found herself suddenly attracted to curvy hips and a ragged pixie cut of thick, black hair. Over the last day she’d confronted the most obvious questions about her sexuality that her mind had thrown at her but she knew immediately that she hadn’t suddenly turned gay. Test memories of old boyfriends had inspired lustful thoughts, and just to make sure she’d checked out the LT’s ass as well; finding it eminently drool worthy. When she thought about Shepard though... it was a shock to her just how much her body responded to the fantasy. _Okay, I’m not gay, but I’m not straight either,_ she thought to herself. _At least not when it comes to Shepard._ She wasn’t really sure what to think of it all, and she was even less sure of exactly what she was going to do about any of it. Even if she wanted to explore this attraction she felt to Shepard, a dozen rules and protocols and her own ethical standards regarding proper etiquette stood in the way; she knew it simply wasn’t possible. _Maybe it’s just an infatuation,_ she hoped silently; _maybe the emotional weight of losing the 212 is manifesting itself as a crush on the one woman I know who understands what that pain is like._ If she closed her eyes tight and ignored all the times Shepard had opened up to her; the poetry underneath the Serpent Nebula, the almost electric tingle she’d felt when she’d run her fingers over the commander’s scarred chocolate skin, the feel of Erisa’s arms around her as she’d clung to her above a burning lake of fire... if she could ignore all that then maybe she could pretend things hadn’t changed at all.

Ashley was concentrating so hard on trying to figure out her feelings that she almost jumped clean out of her skin when she heard a by now very familiar voice call her name softly. Looking around, she felt her cheeks redden as she saw Shepard standing there, though she couldn’t keep a look of concern off her face when she saw the robotic leg brace. “Sorry ma’am, you surprised me,” she said, making sure to fix their difference in rank firmly in the front of her mind. It would help her keep her interactions with the commander on a professional footing until she got over this impossible infatuation.

Shepard gave Ash a warm smile in return, despite her best efforts not to. Just like the chief, Erisa had decided that maintaining a thoroughly professional working relationship between the two of them would be best. “That’s okay Chief. I just wanted to come over and thank you, for what you did back on Therum. You saved my life.” Erisa had to restrain the urge to reach out and touch Ash, settling instead for coming to stand beside her at the armoury station.

Ash didn’t quite know what to say, so instead she just shrugged. “Just doing my job, ma’am. You’re the one who touched the Prothean beacon, after all. If we stand any chance of finding and stopping Saren we need you at the helm.” She watched as Shepard picked up the half-assembled Viper and loving stroked its chassis before quickly reassembling it. Ash’s mind wandered briefly, wondering what those hands would feel like on her skin, before she shut down _that_ train of thought and turned back to her work; beginning to strip her new Crossfire even as Shepard finished with her own Viper and raised the stock to her shoulder, testing the sights. The commander finished adjusting the sights on her sniper rifle and picked up an oilcloth, giving it a gentle clean before she looked at Ashley seriously. “I don’t say that often Chief, so just take the damn ‘thank you’ while you can.” The sarcastic snap in her voice was much more like the Shepard she’d met on Eden Prime and Ashley relaxed a little, chancing a smirk. “In that case, you’re welcome, ma’am.” She paused a moment, unsure whether to continue. “Commander, do you have a minute to talk?”

Shepard put her rifle back on the rack and picked up what looked like her Tempest, beginning to disassemble it. “Yeah, sure thing. I’ve got another two days restricted duty to suffer through until Chakwas will even check the leg again. This duty-related, Chief?”

Ashley started to shake her head then stopped. “No ma'am. Well, maybe. I know things are different aboard the Normandy but... ah, I-I'm concerned about the aliens, Vakarian and Wrex. The quarian Tali’zorah too. And our newest passenger. With all due respect ma'am, should they have full access to the ship?”

Stripping out the thermal coupling from the SMG, Erisa put it to one side to clean. “Don't mince words, Chief. What's your concern?” she asked, her tone professional and inquiring.

“This is the most advanced ship in the Alliance Navy. I don't think we should be giving them free rein to poke about the vital systems. Engines, sensors, weapons.”

Shepard gave her a sideways look, then seeing she was serious, the commander turned towards her for full effect and spoke in a voice that clearly wouldn’t tolerate dissent. “That's enough, Chief. You often in the habit of second-guessing your superiors?”

Ashley tensed at the tone, immediately knowing she’d gone too far and she stiffened into a salute. “Ma'am, no ma'am! I'm sorry, I was out of line. I'll get back to my duties, commander.”

Shepard however, wasn’t done and her stern expression softened a little as she reached out to put a hand on Ashley’s shoulder. “Look Chief, I can understand your concerns. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought of them myself. But the Normandy isn’t an Alliance ship anymore. She may have started out that way but she's a Council vessel now. The Alliance willing relinquished her to the Council and they assigned her to my command as a Council Spectre. I know we've put together a pretty... diverse crew, I'll admit that, but every one of them has earned their place here and my gut tells me we're going to need everyone to stop Saren. Best get used to their presence Chief, they're your crew now. If that's going to be a problem I can always transfer you back to Earth... you should have been put through ICT years ago anyway.”

The commander left the offer hanging in the air, her face composed; but Ash could tell by the tone that Shepard wasn’t judging her for her concerns, even if on the face of it they seemed speciesist. She knew Ashley’s concerns were driven by protocol and regulations; the Chief would have been remiss in her duties to the Alliance if she hadn’t presented her concerns. For her part, Ashley softened a little and gave a vehement refusal.

“No way ma'am, I'm not going anywhere. You're right, we'd still be spinning our wheels back on the Citadel if not for the team you've put together. From now on, if you tell me to kiss a turian, I'll ask which cheek.”

Erisa smirked and put down the now disassembled SMG, trying hard not to think of Ash’s lips again. “I don't think that'll be necessary, but nice to know you'd take one for the team. I better get back to medbay. Our intrepid doctor T’soni should be feeling better by now and I’d best make sure she’s settled in before we all debrief on the Therum op. Dismissed Chief, armoury isn't going to maintain itself.” Shepard couldn’t resist accompanying her last remark with a smirk and a teasing wink but as she turned away from the armoury and headed towards the lift to the crew deck she rolled her eyes at herself. _Nice one, Erisa. So much for trying to keep Ash at arm’s length._

\-------------------------------

The door to the med bay swished open and the commander entered as quietly as the robotic brace on her leg would allow before she made her way to where Karin Chakwas was finishing off the last of the paperwork from the recent spate of medical dramas. Other than Captain Anderson, Karin Chakwas was the only other person in the galaxy who really knew Shepard intimately. Karin had been a young, well young-ish, doctor aboard the SSV _Einstein_ , the Alliance vessel that had responded to the colony’s distress call. When Anderson’s squad of marines had rescued Shepard after a week planetside on the run from Batarian slavers who had destroyed everything she had ever known, it had been Karin who had treated her injuries and helped the teenage girl grieve for her lost family. Then six years ago, after the hell of Akuze, it had again been Karin who had treated Shepard’s considerable battle wounds and helped her grieve once more, this time for the loss of the 323. Karin had never quite been able to understand Erisa’s insistence on keeping the badly scarred skin of her left arm, but she had sensed its importance and had quietly dropped the subject during her recovery. If Anderson was the closest thing she had left to a father, then Karin Chakwas filled the hole left by her murdered mother. Making it to Chakwas’ desk, Erisa gave her a gentle smile, one reserved only for when she and Karin were alone. “Hey Doc. How’s our patient?”

Karin spoke quietly, "As you can see, still resting peacefully. She's in natural sleep at this point; we’ve replenished her fluids and treated most of her exhaustion. The smaller cuts and bruises should heal quickly over the next few days. Other than that, I give her a clean bill of health.” She looked over at the sleeping asari. “What are your plans for her?”

Shepard shrugged, "To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure yet. The Council wants her shipped back to them but I’m not going to make any decisions until I’ve talked to her first. I believe her when I say she’s not working with Saren and her mother, but I don’t know yet if she has enough worth as an asset to keep her onboard.” She grunted and rubbed at the bandages on her left thigh.

“Stop that,” Karin snapped in a motherly tone. “I told you not to get up so soon. I shouldn’t have suggested that silly leg brace in the first place. You should really be in bed, resting, not stomping about the ship.”

Erisa smirked at Karin. “Yes, mother. Now, any chance I can speak to our gallant young doctor? I’d like to find out if she’s worth taking a bullet for.”

Karin gave a sigh and double checked Liara’s chart. “Yes, she’s been resting comfortably for long enough. You have my permission to wake her. Keep it short though, this is a medbay, not an interrogation room.” Shepard was about to move down towards bed four when Karin gave a sly smile. “Speaking of people worth taking a bullet for... what do you plan on doing about our brave Chief Williams?”

Erisa shot a wary glance at the doctor and gave a soft groan. “Dammit, I should have known you’d notice.”

Chakwas smiled and leant back in her chair, offering the second to Erisa; who after a moment’s consideration; took it. “It was hard not to notice, my dear,” Karin said gently. “You’ve hidden behind those walls of yours for six years now, fending off every attempt anyone’s ever made to get to know you. The only thing you’ve ever focused on since... well, since then, has been the mission; whatever that might be. You even became the ‘Ice Queen’ just to keep people at bay, so it wouldn’t hurt if you lost them. Never in all that time have you once called a crewman by their given name, except for her.” Karin smiled softly and reached out to squeeze Erisa’s gloved hand. “I know you, my dear. I know what to look for; and I’ve seen the way you stare when you think she isn’t watching.”

Shepard groaned and buried her face in her hands. “Okay... staring might not be the right word there, but point taken. Exactly what is it you think I _can_ do, Karin? She’s a non-com under my command, there are like, a dozen regs against even thinking about her like that.” Erisa’s face fell as she leant forward to rest her elbows on her knees. “Besides, how do I know she’s even into girls, let alone into me? Christ, I’ve avoided making even regular friends for six years now. I think I’m picking up signals but I don’t even know what the hell they mean anymore.”

Karin gave the commander a gentle, matronly smile. “You’ll muddle through until you find the path, my dear. I’m afraid you’re right, it’s a sticky wicket but in the end you’ll know what to do. You always do.” There came a soft noise from the end of the medbay and they both looked over to see the resting figure of Liara T’soni beginning to stir. Chakwas stood up and gathered her datapad. “You best stay here until I make sure she’s ready for visitors.”

\------------------------------------------------

Chakwas approached the bed and checked the bio scanners, noting the readings down on her patient chart. She gave the stirring asari a warm smile and raised the light level around her bed. "Dr T'Soni. Can you hear me? I'm Dr Karin Chakwas, and since you are starting to wake up, I would like to assess your condition. Do you feel well enough to sit up?"

Liara sat up slowly, letting the sheet drop, and Karin immediately went to one of the cabinets and got a hospital gown. She helped Liara slide it on and tied it in the back for her, explaining that Humans are not so... relaxed... about nudity as the Asari. Liara murmured a quiet thank you and got herself situated best she was able.

Once Liara was settled and appeared to be fine, Karin continued her evaluation, first running basic tests such as blood pressure, temperature, pupillary response and a cursory examination of her healing injuries. Satisfied, she pulled up a chair and sat down beside the asari. "Ok, Doctor, now tell me, how do you feel?"

Liara took a moment to consider the question, moving her body a little to test for aches or pains.  "I feel physically sound, Dr Chakwas, except for a headache, which I attribute to hunger. But I also feel disgustingly filthy and sweaty, and I find myself aching for a shower above all else." She grimaced as she continued. "Unfortunately, I also find myself a pauper, with none of my gear or equipment, as I... we... um, had to abandon all of my possessions in our haste to depart Therum."

"Both of those are an easy fix, Doctor T’soni. You are a fairly average size, and if you don't mind wearing Alliance issue, I can get you a couple sets of clean clothes out of supply, very easily, I'm sure. We've also set a room aside for you, with a cot and an extranet terminal for your personal use. You can use the shower right here in the med bay until you get more comfortable with the crew--it will provide you with much more privacy than those on the crew deck. If you are feeling up to it, Commander Shepard would like to speak with you." Karin waved towards the far end of the med bay where Erisa sat; checking the duty roster for assignments and the buffered messages Joker had downloaded from the comm. buoy near the Relay.

Liara nodded, the memories of her rescue flooding back to her at the sight of the commander. She noticed that Shepard’s dark skin wasn’t simply clan markings like the turians and krogan often wore and realised she must be of a different ancestry to both Dr Chakwas and the other human who had helped rescue her. The leg brace confused her, she could not remember seeing the device on the commander back in the caverns, and as such had to assume the device was medical; the commander had been wounded during her rescue, an injury serious enough to require mechanical assistance. Shaking her head to clear the memories, she nodded to Dr Chakwas with a smile. “Of course, I’d like to thank her for rescuing me.” Karin smiled and raised her voice, calling out. “You may come over now, commander. Doctor T’soni has made what looks like a full recovery. Though please, don’t keep her for too long, she will need to eat soon.”

Karin got up out of the chair and offered it to Shepard as the commander approached. "I am going to get some tea and then organise some clothing and food for Liara. Remember commander, don’t push too hard, the good doctor still needs her rest." Then she turned and slid out the door without another word.

Shepard took the seat and got straight to business. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Doctor. I’ll try to keep this brief, no doubt you’d like to get some food and clean up." Liara interrupted Shepard with a raised hand and a soft, hesitant voice. “First I must thank you and your team, Commander. Without your help I would have never made it off Therum. Instead I would likely have been killed or dragged off to wherever Saren and my mother are hiding.” The young asari looked pointedly at the leg brace. “I feel terrible that you were wounded helping me.” Shepard smirked a little and brushed aside the thanks. “Don’t be so quick to thank me, doctor. If you remember, I’ve been tasked with hunting down the rogue Spectre Saren Arterius, and your mother, Benezia; whom we believe is assisting him. You may not like where things go from here.” Liara stiffened at that, becoming a little less sure that she was amongst friends and fearing that she may have traded one bad fate for another. Shepard didn’t exactly lessen that feeling when she spoke again. “What I need from you is two things. Firstly, I need to know everything you can tell me about your mother; how she thinks, how she’ll respond to threats; what resources she has at her disposal. Secondly, I need to know everything you do about the Protheans and their extinction. If you can you provide me with that intelligence, I give you my word you won’t be harmed, nor will you be detained for any length of time.” Taking her time to consider her answer, Liara finally spoke. “I will happily share whatever information I know on the Protheans with you, commander. However, I will need to see what proof you have of my mother’s involvement with Saren before I agree to your first condition.” Shepard gave a dry smile.

“I guess that’s fair enough doctor. I’ll have an encrypted copy of the Council hearing made available to you. In the meantime, it’s only fair you know everything that has happened to date.’ So patiently, Shepard filled Liara in on everything that had happened, starting with Eden Prime through to their arrival at Therum. “I don't want to go into detail right now,” she concluded, “because we've actually been waiting on you to recover a bit so we can do the mission debrief. If you're up to it, I'll schedule it for one hour from now to give everyone time to get ready."

"That should be fine, Commander. I just need to shower and change, and I will be prepared."

"Great, I'll have Doctor Chakwas escort you to the conference room when the time comes. In the meantime, grab that shower and get freshened up. I’ll send a marine by in thirty minutes to give you a tour of the ship’s crew deck. You might want a quick meal before the debrief too." Shepard gave the asari a faint smile. “It’s Meatloaf Monday in the mess hall.” Standing, she nodded to the asari archaeologist. “We’ll talk again after the debrief and once you’ve had a chance to review the evidence of your mother’s involvement. See you shortly, doctor.” With that, she turned and walked out of the medbay, the door swishing closed behind her.

\-------------------------------

The commander stopped by her room to pick up a couple of datapads, and then walked immediately to the conference room. It gave her some time to collect her thoughts and get ready for the debrief. Once everyone was in the room and seated, Shepard started. "Sorry for the delay on the debrief, but as the leg brace might suggest, after Therum more than a few of us were on restricted duties courtesy of our good Doctor Chakwas. I also wanted Dr T'soni to be present; her input may well prove valuable in planning our next step in the hunt for Saren. First things first, let me give you the short version of my conversation with the Council immediately following Therum. Although they were grateful for our rescue of the doctor here, well, that was mainly Councillor Tevos, they weren’t too pleased with the total destruction of the Prothean ruins," Shepard's normally steady voice took on a more sarcastic drawl. "...because I obviously blew up a goddamn mountain on purpose. They also requested I turn over Dr T'soni to C-Sec for further questioning. That was about the time I got really annoyed and may have said a few things I shouldn’t have. Namely that my job was hunting down Saren and that I didn’t give a steaming pile of Varren crap about the destruction of ancient ruins. I also made it clear that Dr T’soni here had intelligence invaluable to our mission and I had no intention of turning her over for questioning. The geth and their krogan leader were obviously sent to retrieve the doctor, either on the orders of Saren himself or at Benezia’s behest. Either way, we’ve denied him an asset and I planned on making best use of that asset myself. They weren’t exactly thrilled by that response so rather than listen to them bitch and moan I hung up. They gave me the mission to find Saren and I will, but I wasn’t going to listen to them question every decision I’ve made. They made me a Spectre, now they can deal with what that means.” She gave the assembled company a dry smirk. “Maybe they should have asked Anderson a little more about me before appointing me huh?” That drew a bit of a laugh from those who’d already worked with the commander, but the looks on Kaidan and Liara's faces were priceless, a mix of incredulity and horror. Shepard had expected it from Liara but she gave Kaidan a querying look, an eyebrow raised in mock surprise. “Really LT? You didn’t expect me to kowtow to the Council’s every demand just because they made me a Spectre did you? You should know how I operate by now. Anderson’s chewed me out often enough for insubordination.” She gave a wry smile to the rest of them. “Though I prefer to think of my methods as creative problem solving. Look, there’s no way I'm turning the doctor over to C-Sec and relying on second hand intel. Not when we can keep her with us and get it firsthand. The delay in communication alone could mean the difference between stopping Saren and finding ourselves ass-deep in Reapers.” She gave everyone a meaningful look and continued on.

"To bottom line it people, in the negative we inadvertently destroyed a significant archaeological site, but in the positive we got Dr. T’soni out of there safely, and though it was close, we all managed to come through it in one piece. I’ve added Dr T'soni to the Normandy as a member of her crew, I expect you all to treat her as such. Despite her connection to Saren’s right hand woman, she’s assured me she’s not involved in whatever that bastard’s cooking up and I believe her. More to the point, she has more Prothean expertise in her head than the rest of us combined. Chances are that's what Saren was after, and it’s something we’ve denied him. However minimal it might seem it’s the first punch we’ve landed in this fight and I for one am happy about that. Tactically speaking doctor, you’re an asset and I plan on using that to our advantage." At this point, Kaidan chimed in and asked how long Liara had been researching the Protheans, and if she knew anything about something called the Conduit.

"I have been studying the Prothean extinction for fifty years, and though the Conduit is occasionally referenced, there are no specifics regarding its nature nor its location."

Ashley blurted out, "Fifty years? Just how old are you, Doctor?"

Liara looked ashamed. "I... I am only a hundred and six years of age, barely a young adult by Asari standards." Liara was sure her credibility was about to be called into question when Shepard stepped in.

"Okay, for those of you who slept through xenoculture studies at the Academy, Asari can live for over a thousand years, so a hundred and six is pretty young. Do not think for a moment though that that detracts anything from Dr. T’soni’s fifty years in the field, and the fact that she's one of the most published researchers in her field. Half a century of study would make anyone an expert. Let's stay on task; you can save the rest for the mess hall. Please continue doctor.”

Liara flushed as Shepard defended her credentials, but she found her voice again and continued her debriefing. "Th-thank you, Commander. I appreciate your confidence in my capabilities. I have to admit, when we first met on Therum, I didn't understand your ability to decode the barrier control panel so quickly. When I asked, you stated you thought the buttons were pretty obvious... but I know for a fact they were labelled in the Prothean language." It seemed as if merely mentioning the Protheans restored Liara's confidence and her shoulders straightened as she finished. "Now that I am aware of your interaction with the beacon, I can only surmise that along with the images you spoke of, it also imparted a basic understanding of the Prothean language... at least in its written form."

Shepard leaned forward in her chair. "Ok, so let's talk about what I see as the link between the beacon, its images and your research. Those images are... violent. Powerful. With a sense of menace and implacable purpose behind them. I can’t think of a better description than that. They show unparalleled levels of destruction, by enormous ships, which, after listening to the Geth recording that Tali’zorah provided, I assumed to be the Reapers. I think one of your papers mentions extinction by sentient machines, if I’m not mistaken. Has anything in your studies given them a name? Do you think the Reapers may be just that... a race of sentient machines? What I'm really asking is... do you think it's possible the Protheans were wiped out by a race of sentient machines called the Reapers?" As Shepard rapid-fired the questions at the asari doctor, Liara's face gradually took on a look of increasing astonishment.

Dr. T’soni started to answer, and then stopped, reconsidering her response. "I..." All eyes in the room shifted to her, and she blushed furiously, unused to being the centre of attention. "That is my primary theory; though I have never been able to put a name to the machines... Reapers would be as good a name as any... And you think the beacon is a warning buoy!" Liara's face blossomed with understanding. "That would make sense! Everything I have ever read about the Protheans indicates they were an enlightened society. If they discovered they would be unable to defeat the Reapers, it is my estimation they would attempt to leave some type of warning for younger, evolving species... if they couldn't save themselves... then..." She trailed off, suddenly in unfamiliar territory, moving past her research on the extinction itself into conjecture on what the Protheans would have done once they realized their demise was inevitable. It was something she had never thought about and her confidence waned, dramatically. She was unsure where to go from here.

Shepard picked up on her body language. There was something there, but she was either unsure of the data, or unsure of its reception by the crew. "Speak your mind, doctor. All we’ve got so far is conjecture based on myths and legend. Even your best guess is going to be far more educated than anything we’ve managed to put together so far."

"All this time we thought the beacons were just data banks... storage devices specifically designed to interact with Prothean physiology. Anyone who has ever been in contact with one has always been left completely mentally incapacitated, bereft of any remaining logical mind function. For you to have received and understood all that data and still maintain higher level brain function... It is unprecedented! You...you must be remarkably strong-willed, Commander!" Liara looked at Shepard in a new light, her face awash with admiration.

Shepard grew uncomfortable under the adoring gaze of the asari and deflected the praise, her expression darkening as her brow furrowed. “Yeah, well others would say it’s more like a stubborn refusal to die.” Sitting across the room, Ashley recognized the body language and could tell the commander was reinforcing her walls. _Good_ , she found herself thinking, the way the asari was looking at Shepard was starting to piss her off. She could feel an ugly spike of jealousy souring her attitude towards the young doctor and she crossed her arms over her chest, staring knives at Liara from where she sat. The commander continued. “Besides, I still can’t make the slightest bit of sense of the images. All I know for sure is it’s a warning of some kind. If we take it as wrote that the beacon was attuned to Prothean physiology; that if their neural structure was radically different to ours, then that would explain the jumbling of the message.”  

Liara looked pensive for a moment, and then offered up a suggestion. "Do you know much about Asari physiology, Commander? We... um... we are able to join our consciousness with other individuals, including other species. With your knowledge from the beacon, and my knowledge of the Protheans, together we may be able to sort it out."

Ashley had heard enough and practically exploded out of her chair. "What? No way! Commander, you can't risk that! She just said anyone who's even managed to survive contact with a beacon turned into a fucking vegetable! We have no idea what could happen if you start pushing those images around!" She stood there fuming, glaring darkly at Liara.

Shepard could almost see the green in Ashley’s eyes and it made her heart skip a beat, but she had to maintain the professionalism of the debriefing so she reined in the chief. "Stand down, Williams. I’ve heard of the more... esoteric abilities of the asari but I’m going to have to have Chakwas weigh in on this before we consider it as an option. In the meantime there are other concerns that need consideration so let’s try to maintain our civility, shall we?” Ashley returned to her seat, her face dark and still staring daggers at Liara, not at all pleased with where the conversation was heading.

"We'll table this discussion for now. Our next stop is Feros. There have been rumours of geth activity on the planet and according to the newsfeeds an Exogeni research station planetside just went dark; no explanation has been forthcoming from the company itself. I don’t believe in coincidences, my gut tells me there’s a connection. Everyone get rested and prepped, and be ready when we hit orbit. Dismissed." Shepard remained seated as the rest of the crew filed out, her eyes unfocused as she ran over the debrief in her head, trying to decide what to do next.


	7. Echoes of the Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CIC = Command Information Centre  
> XO = Executive Officer  
> mbwajike = bitch  
> CQB = close quarters battle  
> malaya = whore

Shepard leant against the holographic display in the middle of the CIC, casting an eye over the galaxy map as she debated what to do next. The operation to retrieve Dr Liara T'Soni from the planet Therum had been a success, but it had come with a cost in terms of injuries to several crewmembers, and that meant time lost while they recovered. It hadn’t been a complete loss though, they’d picked up a new crewmember; denied Saren an asset and Shepard was one step closer to understanding Matriarch Benezia’s involvement in the whole affair. They still had two leads on Saren, geth activity on both Feros and Noveria, but due to their injuries she and Chief Williams were confined to the ship until cleared for active service. As much as Shepard wanted to head immediately to Feros, she was forced to find busy work for the Normandy until her leg was healed enough that she could return to the field. As she contemplated her next course of action, Joker notified her of an incoming call.

"Commander Shepard, my name is Nassana Dantius. I have a job for you. I can't say any more in an unsecure communication. It's time sensitive, so I need you to come see me at the Citadel. I'll be waiting in the diplomat's lounge on the Presidium."

Shepard grunted in annoyance. "I'm not going to be back on the Citadel any time soon, Ms. Dantius. If it's time sensitive, I suggest you find someone else. Elanus Risk Control Services perhaps, or one of the other security firms."

Shepard heard Nassana gasp. "Commander, this is critical. If you can't get here... Is there any way for you to contact me on a secure channel? I absolutely must speak with you on this matter! Please..."

Shepard heard the desperation in her voice and sighed. Well, they did have time to spare at the moment.  "Fine. Send me your contact details. I'll establish a secure uplink." She then contacted Joker. "Moreau, link us in to the comm. buoy and keep us in orbit at the relay. Someone’s come begging. Better give me time to find out what the hell is going on."

Once she made it to the comm. room and the secure link was established, Shepard was regaled with a story of how Nassana’s sister Dahlia had been a crewman on a cargo vessel that was taken by privateers, the MSV _Kinyana_ , and how she had subsequently received a ransom request with a voice print and holo ident as proof of life.

Shepard considered the implications quickly, before responding. "I know what you're going to ask  Ms. Dantius, but I’m afraid I can’t help you. I’m on Council business, I can't just divert off to the Terminus Systems to chase down slavers. You'll need to hire someone else. ERCS are the best in the business when it comes to this kind of thing."

Nassana replied just as quickly. "But that's just it, Commander. Anyone I hire will have to get out to where the slavers are located, taking precious time. You on the other hand, don't have to divert anywhere. I... I used my embassy authorisation to retask one of the comm. network’s VI’s and tracked their transmission back through several comm. buoys. It led to the Artemis Tau cluster. You're already there. They're on Sharjila, in the Macedon system. Please, Commander!"

Shepard’s suspicions were roused the instant Nassana revealed she knew where they were. "You mind explaining how in the hell you got your intel, Ambassador? The only people with confirmed knowledge of the Normandy’s location are on the damned Council, so you’ll forgive me if I’m a little wary of exactly how the hell you knew to call me." Her voice had shifted from its steady calm tone into one of dark foreboding.

The lie rolled easily off Nassana's tongue as she answered, "I work for the Asari government, Commander. Extortion against an Asari official is taken very seriously. When I took this to Councillor Tevos, she recommended I contact you immediately."

"I see." Shepard wasn’t entirely convinced, but she knew from her own interactions with the Councillor that Tevos seemed to be the sort who would do all she could to help one of her own; regardless of protocol. Checking the planet’s coordinates she realized the diversion would only cost them twelve hours, plus op, so agreed. "Okay, Ms. Dantius. I'll do this, but I’m not giving you any guarantees. My mission _has_ to come first; so even if we find your sister, she may end up a guest of the Normandy until I can get her back to Citadel space. I can't offer you any type of timeframe, not even for a confirmation as to whether or not we are successful, but I'll try to let you know what we find." She paused, then gave her voice a wintry tone of finality. “And Nassana, I suggest you lose this number. I don’t need my operational efficacy compromised because a friend of a friend needs their lost puppy found.”

Since the communication was audio only, Nassana smiled as she offered her response in her best distraught voice. "Understood, Commander. I... I leave this in your capable hands. Thank you."

Nassana relaxed back in her chair with a smug expression on her face.  _Perfect_.

\-------------------------------

Looking down at the robotic brace still supporting her healing thigh, Shepard cursed her luck. With hostages involved this had become a time-critical operation, she’d need to organise someone else to lead the ground team. Looking across the holographic display, she caught Pressly’s eye. “XO, forward what planetary intelligence all available sources have on Sharjila to my ready room.” Reaching across to a holodisplay she brought up an interface and keyed in her Spectre ident. “I’ve given you access to the Spectre archives. Have Moreau point us in that direction, best speed, and send Lieutenant Alenko to my quarters in thirty.” Pressly snapped to attention and saluted. “Aye ma’am.”

Half an hour later there came a knock at the door to her ready room and she hit the open button without even looking up from the last of Sharjila’s planetary surveys. “Come in LT.” Shepard greeted Kaidan with a nod and indicated the chair opposite her desk, watching as he sat down. His face gave away nothing, despite what she knew must be a burning interest in exactly why she wanted to see him so urgently. Suppressing the urge to scratch her bandages, she pushed one of the survey datapads across the desk. “Sharjila. What do you know about the place?”

Kaidan picked up the survey data but didn’t need to even glance at it in order to answer the question. “Ammonium oxygen atmosphere, intemperate climate, the planetary pressure makes it a class one environmental hazard. The heavy concentration of SiO2 in the atmosphere means breathing apparatus is a requirement. Other than a few naturally occurring mineral deposits it’s a pretty barren place.” He handed the datapad back. “Why do you ask, commander?”

Shepard gave a satisfied smile, pleased to see her Number Two was keeping himself briefed on the systems they were close to. “Because you’re going there,” she stated flatly, before laying out the mission parameters; find and rescue the hostages of the pirated cargo vessel _Kinyana_. “I know your first instinct will be to run this like an Alliance op, LT, but you’ll be acting under my authorisation as a Spectre. That means you do what it takes to complete the mission. We clear on that?” The lieutenant nodded in acknowledgement and she could see his mind working the angles and tactics; already planning his operation. “I’d like to take Williams and Vakarian, ma’am. The chief is good in a tight spot and Garrus’ time in C-Sec could help with hostage negotiations, if required.”

Shepard nodded, once more pleased with his selection.  “Good choices. I’d like to oblige you Alenko, but you’re taking Urdnot Wrex and Tali’zorah. Obviously this mission is time sensitive, and with my leg still in this _mbwajike_ of a brace I’m not going anywhere. That puts you in charge of field ops till the doc says so. I’m afraid Williams is still on light duties until Chakwas clears her and I’ve got Vakarian busy working with Adams to set up a range in the cargo hold so I can evaluate Doctor T’soni’s combat skills.” She sighed a little, tired with exertion, and continued. “I’m not going to risk compromising the safety of our ground teams by assigning her to one without knowing just how competent, or incompetent, she is and we don’t have time to divert to Pinnacle Station to use their training facilities. So,” she finished, “that leaves you with Urdnot Wrex and Tali’zorah as your team. Wrex is solid, he’ll handle most of the heavy fighting, should you run into any, and I need you to evaluate Tali’zorah’s in-field performance for me.” Rubbing her eyes, she finished off her coffee and leant back in her chair. “From what I’ve been told, she’s had basic combat training and we’ve already seen her tech expertise and quick thinking for ourselves. Just treat her like you would any other young marine out on their first assignment. Keep an eye on her, make a note of where she’s got the goods and what needs work and then bring her back in one piece.”

Looking over at the chrono on the wall, she handed him a datapad with the mission parameters and her suggestions. “We hit orbit in a little over ten hours, so put together your plan and then brief your team. I’ll be on the bridge with Moreau, following you on comms. I’m there if you need me, but you shouldn’t; just remember your training and you’ll do fine.” Kaidan nodded and stood, giving Shepard a salute. “Thank you for this opportunity, ma’am. I won’t let you down.”

She stood slowly and returned the salute. “I know you won’t, Alenko. Now dismissed. Get some rest.” 

Twelve hours later the team hit the ground with the Mako and the Normandy ran quick scans from orbit. Shepard’s voice crackled as it came over the comm. channel in the Mako, the silicon dioxide particles in the atmosphere playing merry hell with communications. “Okay LT, you’ve got a couple of rare mineral deposits to the south and a crashed probe in the northeast. They could be worth a look while you’re down there but they’re secondary to your main objective. Other than that there’s outpost of some type to the north, a little removed from the main stronghold. Scans aren’t showing any sign of habitation. It’s your op, Lieutenant, call the ball and we’ll back you up with further intel as we get it. Normandy actual out.”  Kaidan put the Mako into gear and spun the wheel, heading towards the abandoned outpost. “Roger that, actual.”

He decided to check the outpost first and make sure it really was abandoned; he didn’t want the slavers calling for reinforcements and flanking his team on two fronts. The camp ended up being abandoned, but salvage turned up a theoretical dissertation by some Asari Matriarch named Dilinaga. Kaidan decided to secure it, thinking that perhaps Dr T'Soni would be interested in it. After stowing their salvage in the Mako, the team headed off to locate the pirate base. As they approached through a narrow valley they quickly discovered it had multiple watchtowers with snipers who would have to be incapacitated before the team could safely dismount the Mako. To that end, Wrex happily operated the guns and Tali managed the electronics suite with a deft touch, monitoring the Mako’s kinetic barriers and jamming the pirate’s comm signals to prevent a coordinated defence. After a few moments of frantic driving and dodging, the stronghold's exterior defences were down.

As soon as they cleared the Mako, Kaidan took command of his fire team. “Okay people, they know we’re coming so expect heavy resistance. If the hostages are still alive they’ll try to use them a bargaining chips, or worse, living shields. Let’s do this by the numbers and get those people out of there. Tali, get the door open then focus on taking down any automated defences, followed by shielding on any hostiles. Wrex, we’ll coordinate biotics, keep them pinned down while we thin them out.” The quarian and krogan nodded, and Tali brought up her omnitool to start work hacking the door lock whilst Wrex unclipped his shotgun and slid a fresh block of ammo into its reservoir. “Incendiary,” he said with a grin to Kaidan, “should burn right through their hard suits. Nothing says you’re serious like settin’ a man on fire.” Kaidan could only shake his head at the Krogan’s brutal tactics and set his Phalanx to fire disruptors instead.  

“Got it,” Tali whispered, then drew her own weapon, a Talon pistol; the compact hybrid of shotgun and heavy pistol was a good choice for CQB. Once unlocked, the team rolled in through the door and were immediately swarmed by multiple hostiles. While Tali and Kaidan found cover, Wrex was in his element and charged forward, throwing warps and blasting away with his shotgun. Tali launched her attack drone and immediately set to work at taking down the enemies' shields. Kaidan tossed out singularity after singularity, bottlenecking the approach to their insertion and eliminating the open field of fire the entrenched pirates had at them. The powerful mass effect fields wouldn’t necessarily stop the faster moving projectiles from their assault rifles but they would distort the trajectory of any rounds passing near or through them.  After laying down their cover, the lieutenant began targeting the pirates with lifts, setting up Wrex to detonate them one after the other with warps as the krogan continued fighting in the thick of it, blasting away with his Eviscerator or finishing those who got too close with his jak’tha blade. Coupling that with Kaidan’s precise pistol shots punching holes in faceplates and Tali’s attack drone causing enemy weapons to overload and jam, it wasn't long before the facility fell eerily quiet, the only sounds remaining that of their own heavy breathing through suit respirators and the air was filled with the smell of the crisp ozone generated by all the mass effect fields they had employed. Kaidan held up a hand to order a stop to firing and looked around the combat zone. “Clear!” he called out, the signal echoed back by both Wrex and Tali as they holstered their weapons. “Start the search for where the captives are and secure any intelligence you can from hard copy or databanks. The commander will want a look.”

Kaidan took a moment after giving his orders to wolf down an energy bar, the rapid fire biotic blitz had drained him enough he could feel a headache building. Overall he was pleased with the way the op had gone so far, he’d be able to give Shepard a glowing evaluation of Tali’s performance in the field and he now realised just how solid Wrex was in a fight. There was only one thing puzzling him; if the pirates had had hostages, why hadn’t they tried using them as shields or bargaining chips? While the lieutenant recovered, Wrex and Tali began the search for signs of any captives. There was only one closed room downstairs, which turned out to be a small office with a few small storage lockers. It took Tali only moments to open them, and the team acquired some decent gear upgrades, compliments of the pirate band. The team completed the sweep of the lower level with no sign of Dantius.

Catching up to them, Kaidan shook his head, "This isn't looking good guys. Do you think the captives have already been moved to another location? Maybe we tipped them off when we went to the abandoned camp first." Tali shook her head. “No, lieutenant, I don’t think so. The generator there had not been active for some time and ground scans didn’t indicate any sensor nets in the area. The Normandy would have alerted us if any ship had taken off and then moved to intercept. You are correct about one thing though, something here is not right.” The team eased into a stairwell and carefully moved to the upper level, weapons at the ready in case someone was trying to hide or catch the team by surprise. The layout was identical to the first floor, and there was only one office upstairs as well. Just as Kaidan had feared, there were no captives and no sign of Dahlia Dantius. He and Wrex searched the various storage lockers while Tali accessed the computer, hoping to find some explanation for the mysteriously missing hostages.

The search was interrupted by a foreboding murmur from Tali. "Umm... Lieutenant... You're not going to like this... but I think I’ve found our missing Asari."

Kaidan moved to stand beside the little Quarian and looked at the holodisplay with a frown. "What am I not going to like? Where is she?"

"I don’t think there were any captives, Lieutenant. These weren’t just pirates, they were slavers. The sign-on for this computer... and all the messages moving back and forth? They belong to Dahlia Dantius."

Kaidan’s normally affable face screwed up into a mix of rage and confusion. "What the hell? You’re telling me Dahlia wasn't kidnapped... that this is her office and she  _ran_ the operation?"

Tali shrugged helplessly, not quite knowing what Kaidan’s reaction was going to be; though she doubted it would be anything like the cold, wintry response she would have expected of Shepard.  "That's what I’m getting from the data, Lieutenant. She was in charge... and based on this picture, she was the Asari we killed downstairs." Even though no one could see her face behind her envirosuit, Tali grimaced as she finished explaining. "And that's not all. There are messages in here back and forth to her sister. Nassana knew."

Kaidan’s face fell at the realisation and he looked at the other two with a grimace. "Oh man... Shepard is going to be pissed. Tali, you better download that information and pass it to my omnitool. Something tells me Shepard’s going to want to have a talk with Nassana. I would not want to be in her shoes right now.”

Wrex just grinned and chuckled. "I got fifty creds says Shepard puts a bullet in the blue bitch next time we hit the Citadel. Any takers?"

Tali surprised the hell out of Kaidan when the little quarian cocked her head and nodded. “Sure, I’ll get in on that action.” Wrex almost couldn’t contain his laughter at Kaidan’s shocked look and he nearly doubled over in fits when Tali just looked at the Alliance officer and shrugged. “What? Are you trying to tell me she wouldn’t?”

The lieutenant grumbled and coughed, trying to get steer the conversation back to the mission. “Never mind that. Come on, let’s load up what we’ve found and head back to the Mako. You’re right about one thing, the commander will want to know about this as soon as possible.”

\-------------------------------

As soon as Kaidan finished debriefing the commander on what they’d discovered, Shepard thanked the lieutenant then sealed the file under Spectre authorisation and ordered the entire field team never to reveal anything they had discovered. Dismissing them from the comm. room, she opened a secure channel back to Nassana Dantius. The asari ambassador answered quickly. "Commander Shepard, I didn't expect to hear back from you so soon..."

"Can it, Dantius.” Shepard snapped, her voice chill. “My team made some interesting discoveries while attempting to ‘rescue’ your sister, so you can drop the act. I have to admit, your plan was tactically brilliant. I’ve got no doubt at all you did your research before reaching out to me and putting your little plan into action. You’re too good a bureaucrat to skimp on the detail work. Even a cursory search into my history would have revealed I grew up on Mindoir and after knowing that you must have felt confident I’d have no qualms about eliminating a group of slavers. Which is true. You certainly picked the right patsy for the job, but there was one thing you couldn’t plan for; just how meticulous your sister was when it came to record keeping. My team downloaded enough information from the databanks at your sister’s compound to prove you knew all about their operation and that there was never any kidnapping. Guess attention to detail runs in the Dantius blood. I have to admit, as much as I don’t like to be played, I’m impressed.”

Nassana’s tone turned nasty and she scoffed sarcastically. "Well good for you for figuring it out. I’m sure you understand why I did what I did, though. If I had reported my sister through proper channels, I would have been placed on suspension at a minimum. If she wasn't apprehended quickly, I may have lost my job completely. To me, that wasn't a viable option."

Shepard laughed, it was a cruel, hollow sound, devoid of any actual humour. "Oh, I understand completely, Nassana. But I’m afraid you made one serious mistake.”

The asari all but sneered down the comm. line. “Oh? Please, do tell me commander. Exactly what did I overlook?”

“You sent a Spectre to do your dirty work. See,” Shepard continued with a smirk in her voice, “unlike you, I’m not bound by galactic law. I could walk into the Embassies, put a bullet through your pretty little head and C-Sec couldn’t lift a finger to stop me. I turn over the intel I have and the Spectre office closes the case without even blinking. But I’m not going to do that. I’m going to keep your little secret, Nassana. But from now on, you work for me. Understood? I own your blue ass, so if and when I need something, you’ll do it without hesitation. You try to run, I’ll have C-Sec on you like stink on a Varren. You try to worm out from under this, I put a bullet to you.” Shepard was grinning from ear to ear and it showed in her voice. “Do we have an understanding, Dantius?”

The swiftness with which Shepard trapped Nassana in her own web caught the asari completely off guard. "You wouldn’t,” she whispered, her mind already looking for an escape but seeing none. Shepard had turned her own scheming back on her. “That seems a bit harsh, don't you think, Commander? I’m sure we can come to some arrangement. Compensation for a job well done, perhaps?"

"Keep your money, Dantius. I own you now. Try to remember that the next time we talk. Consider yourself warned." Shepard reached over and terminated the connection before Nassana had a chance to reply again. The commander shook her head in disgust. "Damn politicians. Moreau!"

Joker’s voice came through over an open channel. “Yes ma’am?”

"Point us at Feros, best speed. We've wasted enough time in this boondoggle system. We don't need to waste any more."

\-------------------------------

By the time the Normandy made it back to the Artemis Tau Relay it had been almost two days since Therum and Shepard was at last losing the leg brace. During transit back to the relay from Sharjila, she’d had time to revisit many of the crew and see how they were integrating into life on board the frigate. Many of them had come from very disparate backgrounds but surprisingly they’d started to pull together as a unit faster than the commander had expected. Ashley seemed to have done a complete turnaround, and when she’d visited the cargo hold she’d found the chief deep in discussion with Garrus, debating the merits of their preferred weapons. Wrex wasn’t in the hold for once, and when she went looking, Shepard had found him in engineering, laughing and talking with Tali as they got to know one another. She had to wonder just what had happened to give the old Battlemaster and the young machinist something to bond over. Even Kaidan was looking surer of himself after the success of the mission on Sharjila. _I guess maybe Nassana’s little sideshow wasn’t a complete waste of time,_ she’d thought to herself. _Not if it’s brought the crew closer together._

Right now though, she was sitting in the medbay, Karin running a final scan over her rapidly healing leg. The discovery of the Prothean beacon on Mars had generated breakthroughs in over a hundred myriad sciences, including the medical field, and it was precisely because of that that a leg wound which should have taken months to heal had been rapidly accelerated to as little as perhaps a week. It was all very dry and technical as far as Shepard was concerned, and though she had the intelligence and training to understand the technology and the science behind it, she didn’t have the inclination. She was a soldier first, the only tech she was really interested in understanding was the type that let her do her job. Give her a photoreceptive dispersion matrix interlinked to a hard suit’s photoprojector array over a cellular regenerating dermaplast applicator any day of the week.

She gave a sigh of relief mixed with pleasure as the heavy robotic brace was finally removed from her leg and she gently, slowly stretched the limb under her own power. The muscles still ached and there was a minimal amount of pain; but nothing she couldn’t easily withstand. “Okay doc,” she said to Karin, “what’s the diagnosis? Am I out of here or do you have some other medieval torture device you plan on strapping me into?”

Karin Chakwas smiled dryly, used to the commander’s sarcastic wit, and ran a medical scanner over her patient’s left thigh before checking the readings. “Unfortunately for me commander, not this time. The tissue regeneration has taken nicely and there’s little sign of any residual nerve or vascular scarring. There will still be some pain as the grafting continues to heal but nothing you’re unused to.” She fixed Shepard with a hard stare though, and continued. “I still want you to take it easy on that leg however, light duties until I say otherwise but I’m happy enough to reinstate you to active status _provided_ you let others do the heavy lifting. Given your preferred combat tactics that won’t be a problem, will it commander?”

Shepard had to bite her lip to hold back a snarky remark Karin almost certainly didn’t deserve and instead she nodded her head. “Okay, take it easy on the leg. I got it doc. How’s Ash, I mean Chief Williams, doing?”

Chakwas couldn’t help a small smile at Shepard’s slip and stepped away to amend the commander’s medical file. “I returned the Chief to active duty this morning. She’s still bruised but no complications have shown themselves.” Before she could continue the door from the crew deck slid open and Liara stepped in, returning from the mess hall with a dinner tray. When she saw the commander she stopped and greeted her. “Oh, hello commander. I wasn’t aware you were here.” Noticing that the brace was gone, the asari smiled softly. “May I inquire as to how your leg is?”  Shepard hopped off the exam table and grunted involuntarily as her still healing thigh took its portion of her body weight. Karin gave her a stern look and shook her head in exasperation. “I just told you to take it easy, commander. What part of that did you hear as ‘jump up and down on it’?” Erisa gave a soft cough to cover her momentary embarrassment and straightened up, testing her leg more carefully. “Sorry doc.” Looking at Liara, she shrugged and took a few test steps. “It seems to be healing well, still a little tender. I’ll have to put in some time in the gym to get back to full strength on it. Other than that, Doctor Chakwas has cleared me for active duty again. Which is good, because we’re heading to Feros next.”

“I’m please to hear that, commander. I wanted to thank you again for coming to Therum when you did. I shudder to think what may have happened had you decided to follow up on one of your other leads first.” The young asari gave a slight shiver, imagining the horrid alternatives; death by dehydration and exhaustion or being carried off to Saren to serve the Goddess knew what purpose. Shepard could see what she was thinking on her youthful blue face and the commander briefly touched Liara’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. There’s nothing useful gained by dwelling on the what ifs, trust me, I know. Now that you’re here though, do you have a moment to speak?”

Liara looked down at the dinner tray in her hands and smiled, Shepard’s words a comfort. “Well, I was going to eat in my quarters and go through some of my old papers. Knowing what we do now about the Reapers I was hoping some of my older discoveries might have further leads, now that I can look at them from a fresher perspective. But that can wait, if you have questions for me.”

Shepard gave a faint smile. “That’s actually a pretty good idea. Well, I won’t take up much of your time then. Come on, we’ll talk in your cabin. Or rather, I’ll talk and you eat.” The two of them walked through the medbay to the storage unit at the back where Liara had been given temporary quarters. Shepard had thought it best she have somewhere where the archaeologist could work in peace so rather than assign her a bunk in crew quarters and add her to the duty roster, she’d allocated the storage space as Dr. T’soni’s interim office. Liara took a seat at her desk and started eating whilst Shepard paced around the cabin, taking the opportunity to exercise her newly liberated leg. “I wanted to talk to you about your mother. Matriarch Benezia. Nothing in her file or that I’ve gotten from conversations with Councillor Tevos suggests any kind of logical reason for her to have joined Saren in this insane crusade of his to bring about a new round of galactic extinction. I was hoping you’d have some insights into the matter.” Shepard paused, still pacing, and chewed her bottom lip as she thought. “I’m also hoping you can give me some idea of how she thinks, and what resources she has at her disposal. Saren and his geth I can plan for, I don’t like the idea of being blindsided by whatever Benezia might bring to the party, so to speak.”

Liara nodded and continued eating, giving herself time to think about what the commander was asking, before she swallowed and spoke, her face pensive. “As I said when we first met, I’m afraid I haven’t spoken to my mother in decades. But I must admit, her actions are completely at odds with the woman I remember. Mother was always a diplomat first, trying to resolve issues both within the Asari Senate and the wider galactic community with peaceful negotiations and a tempering hand. Her views were always Inclusionist; she was a great believer in what the Citadel Council represented and considered it the duty of our people to assist the younger species in assimilating into the galactic community. I’m afraid I can only speculate on her reasons for joining Saren. Perhaps... perhaps she thought she might be able to temper his more... extreme outlooks? I’m sorry commander, but I can’t offer much more than that.” She wrinkled her nose as she lapsed into further thought. “You asked about her resources as well, did you not? Benezia is the head of House T’soni; as such my mother has a considerable following amongst the people of the Armali district, the seat of House T’soni’s power. Many asari, both maidens and matrons, view her as a powerful political figure within the Senate and as a both a House head and a Matriarch she has a sizeable force of asari commandos at her beck and call.” She stopped and her face grew wistful as she recalled what she knew of her mother. “"People expected me to follow in Benezia's footsteps... they wanted me to become a leader of our people. But I have always felt drawn to the past; the Protheans were these wondrous mysterious figures. I wanted to learn everything about them." Suddenly, Liara looked troubled. "Perhaps if I had stayed, Benezia would not have allied with Saren. None of this makes sense to me. I have not actually seen her in many years, but I know her, or at least I did. This is not like her. Something has changed. I grew up surrounded by her acolytes and commandos. They are good people, all of them, but they’re almost devout in their dedication to my mother. When you add that kind of devotion to the biotic potential of a near millennia old Asari, I’m afraid yes, my mother is quite the danger. You are right to worry about what she can add to Saren’s crusade, commander.”  

Shepard muttered another curse in Old Sotho but her frown lifted slightly and she chuckled dryly as she saw Liara’s confusion. “Yeah, your galactic translator might have trouble with that one. My parents were from Johannesburg, one of the old African City-States back on Earth. I grew up out in the colonies but they wanted me to know my heritage so my father taught me the old language.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “It has better swear words than English or galactic standard. Well, you’ve given me quite a bit to consider, Doctor. I’ll leave you to your studies. Let me know if your fresh perspective turns anything up.” Turning to leave, she suddenly stopped, remembering something from the debrief of the Sharjila op.

"Oh, before I forget, Alenko’s foray down on Sharjila turned up something you might be interested in. They came across an abandoned camp on the surface and amongst the salvage they when we found some writings by a Matriarch Dilinaga."

Liara was stunned. "Commander Shepard! Matriarchal writings from our age of interstellar exploration are cultural treasures to my people! What you’ve found is extremely valuable... Why would you offer it to me? If you turned it over to Councillor Tevos, it would certainly curry favour!"

Shepard laughed; a sarcastic bark of a sound. "No point in that, I seem to piss off the Council at every turn so why waste a chit? Besides, you're the archaeologist aren’t you? Even if it's not related to the Protheans, I figured you’d be interested. Up to you what you do with it, doctor."

Liara was still in awe of what the ground team had found. "Goddess. I cannot possibly thank you enough, Commander. I will certainly ensure this gets to the Thessia Guildhall for study."

"I'm glad you like it. One last thing T’soni, would I be right in assuming you have little to no military training?” The young archaeologist was a little thrown by the question, but she had been expecting it to come sooner or later. “No official training, commander, but my time spent with my mother’s commandos was most... instructive. I would not claim to be a professional like yourself; but I am a middling to proficient marksman with a pistol and I’m familiar with the lighter hard suits commonly worn by the commandos. When on digs I relied mostly on my biotics to deal with any encounters. Until Therum I did not need anything more than those and my sidearm.”

Shepard nodded curtly, though she was glad to hear the doctor wasn’t a complete novice. “I’m going to have Chief Williams take you through combat drills down in the hold, when we’ve got time. I’ve got no doubt of your worth as an analyst but if you’re going to accompany us out in the field I need to know your capabilities. After that we can get you kitted out with a hard suit and a weapon and I’ll assign you to one of the fire teams, should you wish. I’m afraid this is non-negotiable doctor, I won’t risk your safety or any other crewman’s by sending you out into the field without adequate training.” Liara almost wilted under Shepard’s hard stare. “Of course, commander. But... are you sure Chief Williams is the best choice for my instructor? I get the impression she doesn’t like me very much.”

The commander had to fight back a smirk. “Williams is a professional, doctor. She’ll do her job without letting any... personal feelings influence her evaluation. Besides, it will give the two of you a chance to get to know each other. She’s... just a little protective is all. Your suggestion to share minds caught us all off guard.” Erisa couldn’t very well suggest that Ash might not like Liara because the chief was jealous. Hell, she wasn’t sure of it herself, but the thought of Ash’s protectiveness gave her a warm feeling, and hope. “Get some rest doctor. As long as nothing else that demands immediate attention pops up, we’ll be at Feros shortly.”

\-------------------------------

Unfortunately for Shepard’s mood, something did pop up that needed their immediate attention. As soon as they linked back in to the Artemis Tau comm buoy on approach to the Relay a priority one message came through on an Alliance channel. After having Joker forward the message to her ready room, Shepard reappeared five minutes later and called all ground teams in for an immediate briefing.

They could all see her mood was foul as she stalked back and forward before the conference room’s holodisplay but once they were all seated, she brought up a planetary survey image. “Edolus. That’s our _new_ current destination, people. As much as I’d rather be heading to Feros before the geth find whatever they’re after and leave; I’m afraid this mission takes precedence. I’ve just received word from Rear Admiral Kahoku of the Alliance’s 6 th Recon Fleet that an exploratory force of marines has gone missing planetside. Their base ship, the SSV _Morocco_ is currently in the Knossos system, too far out to investigate. We’re closest so we get the job.” She looked around at the diverse crew who were slowly becoming a well oiled unit and grunted. “I know our primary is to locate and apprehend Saren but I’m not going to leave a unit of brother marines stranded on some god forsaken planet in the ass end of nowhere until their _malaya_ of a Captain can be bothered to go look for them.” Looking around, she got nothing but nods of agreement from her fellow soldiers and it didn’t surprise her when Tali agreed with her decision to divert from their main objective either. “Williams, Vakarian, gear up. You’re with me. We hit orbit in two hours, I want to be planetside five minutes after that. The rest of you, I want either monitoring comms or sensors for any sign of them. Dismissed.”

Shepard, Garrus and Ashley loaded up in the Mako and dropped onto the planet surface. Edolus wasn't the most hospitable place; if the freezing temperature and the non-breathable atmosphere weren't enough, there was also the combination of a neighbouring gas giant and an asteroid belt which delivered a constant supply of meteors impacting the planet's surface. If you were lucky, it made exploration interesting; if unlucky, it made it deadly.

When the Mako made surface contact, Ashley chipped in the moment sensors came on line. "Ma'am. We've got four contacts... one immediately behind us appears to be a burning M29 Grizzly, no organic signatures. A few mineral deposits, an unknown electronic signature, and the emergency beacon. No signs of hostiles. Comm. traffic is null, if our missing marines are here they’re being quiet." Ashley added that last bit thinking of the geth before continuing, "The beacon is almost dead astern near the Grizz, just a couple of klicks."

Shepard nodded. "Roger that, Chief. I want you on the .50, Vakarian, take the cannon. Keep monitoring sensors and comms just in case, we might get a ping if we’re lucky." She didn't look at either, just accepted their verbal acknowledgements as she focused on driving the Mako. Fortunately, the terrain wasn't difficult, but she still had to concentrate on where she was going because some rather large meteors were keeping things a bit interesting. They were easy enough to spot with their blazing smoke trails, and their purely ballistic paths made their impact point easy enough to predict and dodge... as long as one was paying attention.

They quickly eased up on an open mesa, surrounded by a ring of relatively low hills. Almost dead centre on the mesa was the missing M29 Grizzly, with the emergency beacon not far away. With three sets of eyes on target, no one saw even the slightest hint of movement. Shepard felt a chill pass down her spine and her survival instincts were beginning to twitch, something about this entire situation was wrong. “Chief, did you run seismics?”

Ashley nodded at her side in the gunner’s chair. “Aye ma’am. Nothing.”  Shepard's eyes narrowed and she keyed in the external camera’s zoom function to get a better look at the abandoned APC. The Grizzly was burning alright, but there were score marks all across the external plating that looked too familiar for her liking. The corpses of the marines were scattered about the Grizzly and the nearby beacon and on closer inspection she saw that several of them had been rent in two. “Run them again,” she responded quietly.

“Ma'am?” Ash responded, curiously. “Just do it Chief!” Shepard had all but hissed the command, not taking her eyes of the mesa for a moment as she studied the area about the ruined M29 and its unfortunate crew.  As Ash started the seismic scans again, Shepard eased the Mako forward, beginning to circle the mesa slowly, staying along the ridge of the foothills. Patches of loose earth here and there across the flat plain caught her eye and her instincts started to scream a warning at her. “Something's not right here. If you’re the praying types, I’d start. Anything, Ash?” she asked in a hushed whisper.

“Negative ma’am, seismic scans register as clean.”  

Garrus clicked his mandibles impatiently as he followed the conversation. "What are you thinking, Shepard? Something’s got you spooked."

Shepard's eyes narrowed as she spoke, finishing her circuit of the mesa’s foothills. "It’s just a feeling, Vakarian. Just an ugly, ugly feeling. Keep your eyes peeled both of you, I’m taking us in.” Shepard eased forward slowly, coming down out of the hills towards the Grizzly and the fading emergency beacon. She made sure to give the areas of loose earth she’s seen before a wide berth, but despite the chill feeling down her spine, nothing happened and they made it to the hulk of the M29. They circled the wreck before slowly pulling to a halt on what looked like a flat patch of rock. “Vakarian, stay onboard. Monitor seismics and don’t take your hands off of that cannon. I don’t know exactly what’s happening here but it’s all too familiar. Chief, you’re with me. Let’s see if we can’t ID these poor bastards.”

Cautiously, Shepard stepped out of the Mako, raising her Viper to her shoulder immediately. Ashley followed out after her and did the same with her Crossfire; taking up position on the commander’s six. As the approached the Grizzly, Ashley’s eyes widened as she saw what remained of the marines. “Dear God. They look like they’ve been torn apart.” She knelt to examine one of them more closely and gasped at the huge rents in the dead man’s armour; his blood splashed across the frozen ground and dried black. “What in God’s name could have done this?” Shepard meanwhile had made a beeline for the Grizzly and she was running her hand over a section of its pitted and scarred armour plating; the steel warped by burning. The blood from nearby marines had been sprayed across the vehicle’s sides and a severed limb still clutching its assault rifle lay nearby. When she pulled her hand away, a green residue remained on her glove and she felt her stomach bottom out, dropping away into an endless chasm. Spinning, she screamed at the Chief. “Get back to the Mako! Now! It’s a fucking...”

Before she could finish her sentence, the ground began to heave and shake beneath them and an inhuman scream pierced the air around them, the sound driving a spike of terror through Shepard’s soul. A nearby piece of loose earth erupted into a spray of rocky soil and a great, towering beast rose from the ground. Shepard broke out in a cold sweat instantly and froze for a second, her nightmares all flooding back in an instant, magnified a hundredfold before she found her voice “...Thresher!” 

Ashley watched in horror as the massive, wormlike creature reared up above them, long tentacles with viciously clawed tips flailed and scythed at the air before it turned and spat down towards her. Then she was hit, not by the giant wad of spit but from the side, and she rolled, bodily thrown out of the way by Shepard’s flying tackle. The very ground where she’d stood smoked and spat as a great glob of acidic saliva burnt away at the earth. Then she was standing, hauled to her feet by her commander and the two of them ran for the Mako, firing their weapons backward at the Thresher as they sprinted to the relative safety of the armoured vehicle. The Mako hadn’t stayed still though; the hatchway was already open, waiting for them, and as they approached, the turret slew around and the heavy cannon boomed, discharging a powerful 40mm shell that slammed right into the side of the beast, swaying it bodily.

Climbing back into the cabin, Shepard threw herself into the driver’s chair and slammed her foot down on the accelerator, promptly backing the Mako away from another flying wad of spittle. A thrashing tentacle lashed out at the fighting vehicle and a great claw left a vicious score down the right side of the Mako, but didn’t pierce its thick tungsten carbide armour. Driving the Mako up the side of the hill to her left, Shepard tried to get clear of the mesa bottom and climb into the rocky foothills where the Maw couldn’t follow.

Incoming!” yelled Garrus from where he sat above them in the turret’s gun chair and Shepard swore, the air about the cabin blistering with Sotho curses as she realized they were not going to climb the mesa wall fast enough to avoid a barrage of acid that could melt through their armour like a hot knife through butter. Hauling on the wheel and yanking on the emergency brake, she reversed the Mako’s course and fired the grav boosters for just a moment to separate them from the wall and put them in a freefall, taking them to the bottom as fast as she could. It was lucky she did, as the maw let loose another gob of acid spit which sailed over the top of them, barely missing the turret by a few inches before splashing harmlessly on the cliff wall to smoke and burn the rock. The minute the Mako hit the mesa floor; Ashley opened up with the .50 and started strafing the maw with heavy anti-materiel rounds meant for other vehicles while Garrus slew the cannon back and forth, trying to lock on with the bigger 40mm gun. “I’ve got too much lateral movement, Shepard!” He called down to the main cabin, “you’ve got to get us on a better vector or I’ll never lock in a firing solution.” Shepard slammed the accelerator to the floor and grunted a response, "You’ll get your damn vector Garrus, but first I’d like to get us into a position where we’re not going to get killed! I don’t think that’s asking too much, is it?"

The Mako screamed across the sand and Ashley shouted out, "it's diving!" Shepard immediately slammed on the brakes and cranked the wheel, skidding hard to the right, and then slammed the accelerator once again to the floor, the Mako jumping off ninety degrees from the direction they were previously heading. After a relatively short sprint, she cranked the wheel again to the right, again changing their direction, just as the maw popped up a second time, somewhat behind them, having miscalculated where the Mako was going to be. Shepard turned the wheel slightly, to put the Mako sideways to the maw, shouting, "Be ready, Vakarian! The minute that thing spits, I'm slamming on the brakes and you damn well better be ready to paste that maw!"

Garrus had immediately figured out what the commander was doing and had already started swinging the big gun around to get ready and shouted his response. "I'm on it, Shepard!"

As soon as the acid was launched and Shepard knew the Mako was clear, she jammed on the brakes and skidded to a stop. The heavy thumping of the main cannon was like music to her ears. The maw spit again and Shepard quickly backed the Mako out of the acid's path and stopped again for Garrus and Ashley to continue their bombardment. After a third shot, the maw figured out it had lost the advantage and dived once again under the sand. Shepard quickly launched the Mako on another erratic drive route and set them up to start the process over again. After a third repeat of the cycle, the maw crashed dead to the sand, and after a slow circle around the beast to ensure the maw wasn't going to recover and rise again, Shepard had Garrus put another shell into its head just to make doubly sure. After that, she pulled the Mako to a stop between the Grizzly and the transmitting beacon.

The team dismounted and Shepard and Ashley moved amongst the bodies, collecting all the dog tags of the dead, while Garrus moved to check out and disable the beacon. Ash paused as she stood near the spot where Shepard had tackled her and she just looked at the acid burnt ground. Shepard noticed and came to stand beside her. “What you thinking, Chief?” Ash looked up, jerked out of her reverie and she gave the commander a guilty look. “I froze up, ma’am. I just... froze and you had to tackle me out of the way. You saved my life.” Erisa looked about quickly, and seeing Garrus busy with the beacon, she reached down to squeeze Ash’s hand, letting the touch linger a moment longer than she perhaps should have. “It’s okay, Ash. Not many people can say they’ve survived a Thresher attack whilst on foot; confronting something like that,” she said with a nod back to the enormous carcass, “isn’t something you can train for.” _I should know._ “Besides,” she said with a soft smile that was usually reserved for just the chief, “you can take it off one of the two I owe you.’

Ash felt Erisa’s hand squeeze hers and she squeezed back, not minding the lingering touch one bit. It was comforting, and it somehow felt... right. Erisa’s words even managed to bring a wan smile to her face and she chuckled, reluctantly letting Shepard’s hand fall out of hers. “So now it’s just one you owe me huh, boss? Fair enough. I’d uh, better get back to work.” Erisa nodded and stepped away from Ash just as Garrus’ dry voice came over the comm., "I'm not Alliance, but this beacon doesn't look like one of yours, Shepard."

The commander sighed and shook her head, “on my way, Garrus.” Signalling at the Chief to keep collecting tags, she walked over to check out the beacon. After a brief inspection, she shook her head, suspicion beginning to cloud her already dark face. "You're almost right. It’s still Alliance, but it’s an older model. A JMX03. They were decommissioned and mothballed almost seven years ago. What the hell is one of these doing out here?”

“Maybe it was sold to the civilian market,” Garrus suggested. “It’s standard practice amongst most militaries. Recoup some of the financial loss by selling old stock.” Shepard shook her head. “No, the JMX line has Alliance protocols hardcoded into the firmware, the Alliance wouldn’t risk those protocols getting into the hands of foreign governments. By all rights this thing should have been destroyed. See what kind of identifying information you can get off it. ID plate, insignias, serial number, anything. We'll send it all back to the Admiral to see what he can find on it. I’d better call down the Normandy,” she said sadly, "I’m not leaving even one of these poor bastards here to be forgotten.”

It was a sombre team that returned to the Normandy, the cargo hold now carrying the coffins of ten perished marines. The next time they made port they’d see the remains were returned to the Alliance for proper burial and their evidence turned over to Alliance CID for a proper investigation. It wasn’t what they’d hoped to find on Edolus, but at least they could make sure the sacrifice of the 6th Fleet marines was remembered. That night, as Shepard sat at her desk filling out an after action report, there came a knock at her door. Curious as to who would be disturbing her at this late hour, she opened the door to see the chief standing outside. “Come in Chief,” she said with a gentle smile, dropping the datapad onto the table.

Ash was a little unsure of herself as she stepped into the commander’s ready room. It wasn’t a feeling she was used to, the Williams’ women were a strong willed bunch, self assured and confident; but something about Erisa Shepard made Ashley nervous, more than any simple crush had made her feel in the past. “Hey Shepard,” she said quietly, “do you have a minute? I... I couldn’t sleep. Wondered if you might want some company after what happened down on Edolus.” Erisa felt her heart start to beat a little faster and smiled, stepping back to let Ash into her quarters. “Sure thing, Ash. I’m not a fan of paperwork at the best of times, and Edolus...”she paused, not sure what she was trying to say.

Ash saved her by simply smiling and nodding, even as the brunette marine walked to stand beside the narrow window set into the starboard bulkhead. “Yeah, that was something alright.” Erisa could only nod in return. Moving to her desk, she opened the bottom drawer and pulled out two glasses and a bottle of Don Julio 1942, her preferred brand of tequila. Pouring two short measures of the clear, golden liquid, she moved to stand beside Ash and handed her a glass. Ashley took it gratefully and smiled. “Tequila huh? I’d have taken you for a whisky woman.” Erisa smirked and shook her head then took a long sip, enjoying the burn of the alcohol and the after notes of tropical fruits. “No, that was Dad. He loved his scotch, even if it was almost impossible to get out in the colonies.”

Ash took a sip of her drink and smiled wistfully. “Sounds like our dad’s have something in common... had, I mean.” Unable to contain it any longer, Ashley turned from the window to look at Erisa. “You knew, didn’t you?”

Shepard looked back from the streaking stars to Ashley, an eyebrow raised. “Knew what?”

“About the Thresher. That’s why you had me run seismics. Twice. You knew it was there.” Erisa shook her head gently. “I suspected. Too much about what happened down there was familiar, it was too much like...”

“Akuze?” Ashley finished.

Erisa snorted softly and nodded. “Yeah, too much like Akuze. An isolated area, a small squad of marines there for no readily discernible reason... their base ship mysteriously called away, or absent. It gave me a bad feeling. When we got close enough to see the bodies and the acid scarring on the Grizz... yeah,” she finished softly, “I guess you could say I knew.”

Finishing her drink, Ashley put the glass down on the window’s sill and tentatively put her hand on Shepard’s shoulder. Erisa felt an almost electric tingle at the contact and just as timidly reached up; resting her gloved hand over Ashley’s bare one. Ash felt the same tingle and butterflies filled her stomach. “Shepard,” she asked quietly, “What happened there? On Akuze?”

That was a mistake, and she knew it as soon as the words had left her mouth; she felt the commander stiffen under her hand and Shepard pulled away. “Not... not now, Ash. Don’t ask me that now.”

“Maybe.... maybe if you talked about it, it’d...” Ash’s gentle probing was interrupted when Shepard shook off her hand and stepped back, her soft looks hardening. “That’s enough, Chief!” she snapped in a cold, cruel voice.

She immediately felt like shit as soon as she finished snapping at Ashley, the hurt look on the other woman’s face cutting her to the bone. Her face softened again, her dark brown eyes shifting from ice cold to apologetic. Stepping closer, she gently put her hands on Ash’s shoulders and looked her friend in the eyes. “I _will_ tell you, Ash. One day, I promise. Just...”

Ash smiled gently and nodded, her face filled with understanding. “Just not today. That’s okay, Shepard. I’m sorry I pushed. I should have known better.” Impulsively the brunette stepped in close and hugged Erisa, the gesture meant as one of friendship; but she couldn’t deny the way it made her heart leap when Shepard hugged her back. _Dear God,_ she thought to herself as the hug lasted longer than either of them meant it to, _this isn’t a crush is it... am I really falling for my CO?_

Shepard hadn’t been able to resist the hug when offered, she _knew_ she shouldn’t have, but the chance to have those arms around her again was too tempting, and as she’d let them envelop her she’d felt that same feeling of safety again; like nothing in her past could hurt her ever again. As she squeezed back tight and buried her face in Ash’s neck, smelling her hair, she could feel the remembered terrors dredged up on Edolus slipping away until she felt nothing but peace. That one little moment, that tiny gesture had such an impact that it changed things forever. Erisa felt a flood of emotion that scared her and she stepped back, giving Ash that same gentle smile. “It’s ah, it’s getting late chief. Time to call it a night.”

Ash could feel herself trembling a little as Erisa stepped back and she nodded in agreement, a blush creeping up her face and she turned away before Shepard could notice it. “G’night ma’am,” she stammered out quickly, before turning and swiftly walking out of the commander’s quarters. _Did... did she just smell my hair? Did Shepard really just hug me tight and smell my hair?!_ That sent a dozen different thoughts and emotions rampaging through Ashley’s mind but the chiefest among all was hope. Hope, followed by a half dozen memories of little moments between them she thought she’d imagined. _My God,_ she thought to herself, _what if I wasn’t imagining them? What if she likes me too?_

Back in her cabin, Erisa watched Ashley leave, admiring the view from behind, but as soon as the door swished shut, she leant against it with a groan, banging her head on the steel portal. _You stupid, silly little girl,_ she swore at herself. _Why in the hell did you have to go and fall in love with your best friend?_


	8. Zhu's Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CIC = Command Information Centre

Her dreams that night were turbulent to say the least. As always, she found herself inexorably drawn back _there,_ to her own personal hell that was filled with pain, death and inevitable loss. Gunfire echoed ceaselessly alongside the inhuman screeching of terrible beasts and the more woeful screams of the injured and dying and all the while old faces long since dead stared at her with accusing eyes. _Why us,_ they cried, _why did we perish and not you? What makes you so special that Fate kept you alive while those around you died?_ It was an old dream, this one, but it shook her to her emotional core like none of the others ever did. But before she could play out her part; to beg and plead with the faces of the dead; to cry out that she wished she hadn’t lived, that if she could she would have died alongside them, things began to change. The blackness above them lit up with a million pinpricks of light and it slowly dawned on her that it was the night sky wheeling above them, as if viewed from the bottom of a narrow valley. Just which valley she knew without thinking, but instead of letting the terror close in around her again, she turned her face skyward. A dozen others followed her gaze until she stood with her dead, watching as one by one the stars above them started to blaze red; engulfed in flame. The starways burned and above them all, a dark presence began to descend on the vale of the dead; a monstrous entity that radiated neither hate, nor hunger, nor evil. Just implacable, unswayable purpose and as a vast red eye turned to stare down at her, Shepard turned to look at the spectres of her dead. _That is why I was spared,_ she whispered to them in a voice so solemn it was almost silent. _There was another battle yet to come, one I must fight alone._ The spectral faces turned back to stare at her with dead eyes and their ghostly voices cut her deep when they spoke. _You will fail them. Just as you failed us._ The chorus changed then, the voices blending into one deep and terrible sound that she knew belonged to the vast eye above. _Nothing can stop the Harvest. It is... inevitable_.

Shepard came awake suddenly, her head throbbing and the sheets soaked in sweat while the words of the last voice rang in her ears. Her heart still raced from the terror of the night’s ghostly visitations and she cursed in frustration before throwing a pillow across the room in a burst of angry petulance. Now her nightmares were starting to bleed together; the old and the new mingling to create new horrors. Getting up, she dragged the damp sheets off of the bed and threw them in the corner, stripping off her soaked sports bra and sweatpants and adding them to the pile before taking a quick shower. Feeling clean now at least, she remade the bed and climbed in nude. Desperate to get a decent sleep before they arrived at Feros, she racked her brain for a way to stave off the nightmares. It wasn’t until she thought about the peace and safety she felt when she had Ash’s arms wrapped about her that she felt her heart rate slow and her breathing deepen. With that image fixed in her mind, she drifted back to sleep and for the first time in years; didn’t dream.

The entire ground team got an early call that morning and it showed on several faces as they all filed into the comm. room behind the CIC for the final briefing on the mission to Feros. Shepard had to hide a smirk at Kaidan’s attempts to hide a cavernous yawn and she noticed that like her, the chief was starting the early day with a double dose of navy issue coffee. Tali’zorah was impossible to read behind her mask, but she didn’t have quite her usual level of boundless enthusiasm about her just yet. Doctor T’soni seemed virtually unfazed by the early call, as did Garrus. It was only Wrex that seemed to be delighted with the early start; and she heavily suspected that was more because it gave him a reason to torment the night owls like Tali and the Chief than any real love of the morning. Once they were assembled, she tapped her omnitool and brought up an image of Feros. “This is it, ladies and gentlemen. Feros. Our first real bite at tracking down Saren.” She grimaced a moment, the distaste plain on her face, then continued. “Thanks to the presence of one of the major Corporations and the quite frankly insane degree of their litigiousness, we don’t actually know a whole hell of a lot about the place. We do know the planet has a Third Age Prothean ruin, currently controlled by the ExoGeni Corporation research group. All humans. They were the primary funding behind the small colony of Zhu’s Hope. It’s a relatively small outpost founded in 2178 with an approximate population of 300, but ExoGeni have also set up a separate research facility in one of the other major Prothean spires. Doing quite what no one knows, thanks to a million and one legalities that seem to keep even the Citadel Council in the dark.”

Tapping a few holokeys on her omnitool, she pushed the planetary display into a much tighter view of the colony in question and highlighted several scans. “As previously mentioned before we were diverted to Edolus, Spectre intelligence and local distress beacons have both detected evidence of a heavy geth presence in these areas, and two days ago the research station went dark. There’s been no official word from ExoGeni, as you’d expect, but the theory is if the colony was hit, so was their station. For that reason alone we’re going in hot, with the full roster.” Looking about the room with piercing eyes and a stony face, she assessed each reaction. Wrex of course looked more than eager to get into it, whilst Alenko, Williams and Vakarian were each nodding, all of them professional soldiers who were already bring up the mission scans on their omnitools and studying them to better familiarise themselves with the target area. Tali’zorah looked only a little hesitant but Shepard saw her glance at Wrex, and when the big krogan gave her one of his trademark grins, the little quarian relaxed visibly. Shepard hadn’t expected that, but it looked like Wrex had taken their young specialist under his wing. She doubted she’d ever have to worry about Tali again if Wrex was keeping his eye on her. Only Doctor T’soni seemed uncomfortable and Shepard drew her aside as the others began to study the mission file in deeper detail.

“I’m sensing some hesitation doctor. I know we haven’t had time to train you to an appropriate level yet, but I’ve done my research on Asari commandos since we last talked. If they were willing to let you train with them then you’re good enough to accompany us today, at least as a noncombatant. Thankfully asari and humans share much the same physical dimensions, so the armoury will be able to outfit you with a hard suit and a weapon, but I warn you now doctor, it is for self defence only. I’m going to have you shadow Lieutenant Alenko, he’s a fellow biotic so I want you to watch and learn our tactics from him; but you are not, I repeat not, to involve yourself in combat unless there is absolutely no other option. We need you for your knowledge of the Protheans right now, not as an extra fighter. I need to know why Saren sent his geth here and what they’re looking for. You’re my best shot at understanding whatever we might find. So keep your head down, stick to Alenko like glue, never, ever, expose yourself to enemy fire, and keep your barrier up. Understood?"

Liara looked at the expression on Shepard's face and knew this was nonnegotiable. All she could say was, "Yes, ma'am."

Turning back to the centre of the room, she addressed the entire ground team. “Attention people! Moreau says we’re two hours out from orbit so study the mission packets then gear up and be ready to assemble at the airlock. We’ll be arriving at approximately ten hundred local time so remember to set your secondary chronos. Alpha squad will be our primary fire team; that’s Williams, Wrex and myself. Alenko, you’ll be leading Bravo squad in support; you’ve got Vakarian, Tali’zorah and Dr T’soni. She’s your shadow on this op, LT; keep her safe and good hunting out there, all of you.”

The conference room echoed to a crisp chorus of “Yes ma’am!” and Shepard nodded, dismissing them at once so she could go ready her own field gear.

\-------------------------------

By the time Shepard got to the airlock, the Normandy was on its final approach into the small colony of Zhu’s Hope; already banking and decelerating as it vectored in on the docking bay. Both Alpha and Bravo squads were ready and waiting, but Shepard couldn’t resist a dry smile as she saw Ash helping the asari doctor readjust the straps on her new hard suit. Ashley had picked out a light suit of Mantis armour for Liara and armed her with an M6 Carnifex. It was a smart choice as the lighter pistols would have little to no effect against synthetics like the geth. Their armoured plating was too strong. Ashley finished the adjustments and had Liara go through a full range of motions while she double checked the heavy pistol before handing it to the doctor. “Okay doc, now remember what I told you. The M6 fires slow and she has a hell of a kick so if you have to use it, keep your aim low and try to make every shot count. I’ve modded her to be ultralight and added a heavier thermal clip so you’ve got more shots before reloading. She’s got almost the same stopping power as an Avenger rifle so she’ll make short work of a trooper’s armour.” The doctor nodded, grateful for the instructions and clipped the collapsed pistol to a hardpoint on her waist. “Thank you for your help, Chief. I’m not used to wearing a hard suit but that’s much better.” Ash gave a blunt nod, doing her best not to let her dislike of the beautiful young asari show. She knew it was an irrational feeling, but she couldn’t help it; the way Liara looked at Shepard sometimes, her pretty blue face filled with admiration and gratitude... it irritated her. Ashley didn’t like feeling jealous without a good reason to, and as yet she didn’t have a reason. “You’ll get used to it quick enough, doctor. The Mantis is well suited to biotics like you and the Lieutenant, good overall protection and plenty of room for amp mods. Once we get some.”

The Normandy finished her landing cycle and docked; the airlock hissing as it matched pressure with the planetary environment outside before opening; both squads disembarking quickly in cover formations. There was a representative from the colony already waiting for them at the end of the dock and it was quiet long enough for him to introduce himself. “Hello commander,” he said, quickly glancing at the rank insignia painted on Shepard’s armour, “My name is David al Talaqani, I oversee the docks for Zhu’s Hope. When we saw your ship arriving I came as fast as I could. Fai Dan wants to speak with you immediately.”

Shepard shifted her Viper into the crook of her arm as she listened, a few deft hand signals dispersing both squads throughout the dock. There was no way the Geth could have detected the Normandy’s arrival electronically but that didn’t mean a ground unit hadn’t physically observed their arrival and reported back. “Who's Fai Dan?” she asked, already eager to be moving on and off of the narrow, exposed docking platforms.

David turned and beckoned for her to follow him, looking over his shoulder back at her as he did so. “He's our leader. We need your help to prepare for the geth. They're making another push towards the colony. Please, go up the stairs, past the freighter.” He didn’t manage to say any more as a single shot rang out across the docks and he collapsed to the ground, a bloody rose blossoming on his shirt front above his heart. The first wave of Geth had arrived, a sniper’s bullet killing the colony rep in the opening seconds. Shepard dove for cover as soon as David’s body hit the ground and she gave a bellow. “Contact right! Sniper in the stairwell!”   The rest of the Normandy ground crew from both squads instantly starting diving for cover behind anything they could find as troopers began to flood into the docking bay from the stairwell. Tali was the first to react, hacking the trooper closest to her from cover and turning it on the other Geth. It created a moment of confusion amongst their synthetic enemies and Shepard capitalised on it immediately. “Alpha squad, suppressing fire! Bravo, plug that stairwell until we can sweep the docks!”

 The Normandy teams went to work straight away, gelling together like a well drilled squad with years of experience rather than the mere week or so they’d actually been together. Ashley and Wrex both advanced into forward cover positions and kept the handful of Geth on the docks pinned in place behind their own hexagonal barriers, sheltering from withering barrages of sustained assault rifle fire whilst Tali went to work with dampeners, shorting out each shield one at a time so Garrus could drop the trooper hiding behind it with a lethally accurate shot from his Viper. Kaidan had tossed a Singularity into the stairwell’s opening to keep reinforcements from entering whilst Liara had extended her barrier out to cover the Lieutenant, letting him use all the energy he could muster to power his own biotic creation, drawing in any geth that got too close to the mass effect field. Shepard scowled angrily; she’d told the asari not to get involved in the fighting and T’soni had already disobeyed her orders. She’d have to deal with that later however. For now, they had Geth to kill.

Deploying her rifle’s bipod, she steadied it on the top of the rock ledge she was taking cover behind, and lined up on the geth sniper in the stairwell. Too late. It was retreating back up the stairwell into cover. _Crap, even once we clear these dock there’s no way we’re taking that stairwell without that sniper getting a clean shot at one of us._ Taking a bead on its last known location, she opened her omnitool and scanned past the walls for its location. _Got you._ Another quick scan measured Kaidan’s singularity for both its exact point of origin and its gravitational strength. A rapid series of calculations blitzed through her head and she shifted her sights; aiming down and to the right of the singularity’s centre. Dialling down the velocity of her rifle, she exhaled slowly and squeezed the trigger. With a loud crack her Viper fired and although it happened at supersonic speeds; she liked to imagine she could see the high velocity round exit her rifle and speed towards where she’d aimed before the singularity’s mass effect field distorted its trajectory and sent the round veering off course and up into the stairwell. Nothing happened and for a moment she was afraid she’d miscalculated but then there came a clatter as the sniper’s lifeless body came sliding down the stairs to crash in a heap at their base, a hole punched clean through the sniper’s main sensor lens.

The rest of the Geth troopers fell in quick order as alpha squad mopped up the few remaining hostiles on the docks and Garrus picked off those suspended in the singularity. When it was all quiet, Shepard called clear and once she got the same call back from all squad members, she moved quickly to secure the stairwell. As they passed up the stairs, Garrus paused to examine the downed sniper and shook his head in amazement, whispering a breathless “Spirits!” to himself. Ashley noticed and raised an inquiring eyebrow, causing the turian sniper to cough in embarrassment.

“I’ve seen some incredible shots in my time, Chief, but never seen anything like that... using a singularity to slingshot a round past a blind corner and hit a target? Amazing.” Ash couldn’t help but grin at him, feeling proud of the shot on Shepard’s behalf. “Yep, that just about describes her, doesn’t it?” 

It wasn't long before the two Normandy squads arrived at the colony proper and Shepard ignored the tired and weary looking colonists in favour of finding their leader, Fai Dan. It didn’t take long; he was near the northeast barricades at the base of another staircase heading into a tower that at one point must have been their communications centre.

"Fai Dan? I'm Commander Shepard of the SSV Normandy. We came in response to an emergency distress beacon sent out from this system. From the amount of geth activity in the area I’m assuming it’s yours. I’m afraid your man on the docks, Talaqani, didn’t make it. The Geth were waiting for us as soon as we landed."

A woman in black ExoGeni body armour was standing next to him, and tartly spit out, "Typical of the Alliance, always just a little too late, aren't you?"

"Arcelia,” the slight, older looking man said disapprovingly. “I’m sorry Commander, Everyone's on edge since the geth attacks began. I’m afraid most of my people are running on next to empty. We’ve had very little respite since this began.” Shepard was about to start asking questions when with a deep, sonorous thrumming, a dropship glided overhead and hung in the air as more Geth started dropping into the nearby tower from above.

Arcelia yelled, "The Geth are in the tower!" and ran to the nearest barricade.

Shepard glanced up at the dropship and rolled her eyes, the roar of its engines muffling a curse. "Alpha squad, on point! Bravo, come up behind us, we’ll thin their numbers and you finish them off. Break!” Stowing her rifle on her back, she pulled her Tempest free and ran for the stairwell, Ash at her side and Wrex no more than a step behind them, shotgun already in hand. Selecting disruptors, she couldn’t help but give a grin at the sound of the SMG auto-assembling, and Ash laughed at the commander’s expression as she hefted her Crossfire. “You wanna dance, Skipper?”

Erisa laughed back, the adrenaline rush of the moment overcoming her better judgement, as she gave Ash a roguish wink. “You asking me out, Chief?” As soon as the words left her lips she blushed a deep crimson, the colour change obvious even beneath her dark, African skin; and Ashley went a similar shade of red. The air between them thickened to treacle and for a moment their eyes locked, one astonished at what she’d said, the other not quite believing what she’d heard. Then the moment was broken by a thundering boom as a shotgun went off right beside them and a two thousand pound, battle hungry Krogan crashed past them, firing up the stairs repeatedly before tossing a warp up at the last geth on the landing for good effect. “Makes eyes at each other on your own damn time,” he growled good naturedly as he barrelled past them, “we got killing to do!” The two women exchanged a guilty look before squaring _that_ moment away to deal with later. With their game faces solidly on, they charged up the stairs after Wrex, covering each other as they moved from landing to landing up through the tower, eliminating each descending geth patrol with precise cross fires or combinations of warps and overloads. They left bravo squad following up after them, finishing off any disabled or damaged synthetics one floor at a time. Keeping a blistering pace, the three professional soldiers of alpha squad barely slowed, moving so quickly the Geth had no time to prepare for the onslaught of warps, overloads and gunfire that cut them down. Finally they approached the top floor and Shepard held up a fist, signalling a halt. The roof was partially collapsed on the tower, and the Geth dropship was visible through the gap.

Keying in her mic, she spoke softly to the combined Normandy ground team. "The geth still have a dropship in play here so I need intel. Tali, you’re our resident geth expert. Any insights to offer?” The small quarian risked a peek out from cover and examined the dropship for a moment. “I’m afraid I can’t offer much, commander. Judging by its size it looks like a standard geth frigate, but I’m afraid only the Admiralty Board back on the Flotilla has any real data regarding how the geth ships are crewed. I’m sure most Captains have some idea but...” She paused and shrugged helplessly. “I’m on my Pilgrimage, Shepard. Until I return and am accepted as crew aboard a ship I won’t be told that kind of information.” Shepard’s expression darkened and she bit back a curse, but Tali’s voice brightened as she thought of something. “Wait. We passed maybe twenty disabled geth platforms coming up the stairs though, and none of them were command units.” That earned a few looks of confusion from most of them, but the enthusiastic little machinist just shook her head at them. “Don’t worry, I can explain during the debriefing. What I’m trying to say is, the more of them we destroy, the sooner they will have to deploy a Prime or a Destroyer. Without a command unit in the field they risk the remaining geth units becoming too basic to function tactically. I can’t tell you how many platforms are left, Shepard, but when the command unit deploys; you’ll know it isn’t many.” Shepard nodded.

“Okay, that’s something. We can’t push in too far or we’ll risk being flanked from above so we’ll have to engage them here and try to draw out a Prime. Once it deploys, we focus on taking that down fast; then clean up should be easy.” She brought up a quick holo of the tower ahead, based on what passive scan data their omnitools could collect, and she put together a plan. “Chief, I need you and Wrex to be our spearhead. Push in to the combat zone then go to cover and hold your ground. LT, you’ve got Tali and the doctor; I want singularities and warps keeping enemy troopers from flanking our spearhead and Tali, I need you working your magic to disable those barriers they raise. Vakarian and I will find higher ground and eliminate any advancing units. Remember, we draw out the command unit then deactivate it with extreme prejudice. Whatever else you do, DO NOT expose yourself to direct fire from that ship. No amount of barrier or shield will save you! Let's move!"

Shepard stepped up to the doorway into the upper tower and peeked around the corner, quickly scanning the terrain, before she eased her head back and looked across to Garrus. “You ever use a tactical cloak, Vakarian?”

The tall turian’s mandibles clicked a little and he nodded; his voice dry but tinged with what sounded like distaste. “I’m trained commander, but it’s been a while. There was never much call for them in C-Sec work; the Executor didn’t approve of them.” Erisa offered her fellow sniper a sly, comradely smirk. “Then he was an idiot. You’ll need to use it now I’m afraid. There’s a broken ledge about five metres right of the doorway, two metres up. Cloak and get to it; it’s a good shooter’s nest.” The turian nodded. “There’s a similar spot to the left. I’ll set up there then we send in the spearhead.” She gave him a faint smile. “We’ll compare kills when it’s over. Loser buys drinks.”

As soon as the two snipers were ensconced in their nests; rifles set and ready, the lead team of Chief Williams and Urdnot Wrex penetrated into the upper floor, moving in only so far as the first available cover, whilst Alenko kept the two specialists; one technical and the other biotic, behind with him. As soon as Geth started to appear in response to the opening salvos from Williams and Wrex, Garrus and Shepard opened fire. The turian took out the first geth platform, mere seconds before the commander dropped another, and she could have sworn she heard him grin over the comm. channel as he confirmed his kill "Scratch one."

Initially, Wrex and Ashley limited themselves to long-range weapons fire, Wrex setting aside his Eviscerator in favour of a Raptor battle rifle and Ash alternated between her Crossfire and the occasional fusion grenade. With singularities and warps bottlenecking their approach as well as deadly accurate fire coming from the two snipers, the Geth quickly realised they were at a disadvantage and pulled back into cover. Not that it helped much, carefully targeted biotic attacks and widespread sabotage fields generated by Tali either pulled geth troopers out into the open or shut them down long enough for Wrex and Ashley to move forward into better firing positions to finish them off. Bit by bit the geth defence degenerated and Shepard was scanning the field like crazy, sweeping it with her scope for any sign of the command unit they were expecting to drop in any time now. Suddenly Liara called out, "Shepard! There's a control platform behind us!"

Apparently, a Geth Prime had worked its way into the tower from somewhere below, through a second entrance the team had yet to discover, and came in the same door the team had used earlier to gain access to the top floor. Suddenly, those in support now found themselves on the front line, and from their nests, neither Shepard or Garrus had any hope of intervening. The Prime's first shot blasted Tali, taking out their most effective countermeasure to the geth, before anyone nearby had a chance to react. Dropping their barriers, both Kaidan and Liara scrambled to get into cover from their newest attacker, dodging bullets and mini rockets as they leapt and slid over stonework. They had the Prime in a crossfire now, but there wasn’t much they could do. A heavy pistol like the Carnifex would make easy work of a standard geth’s armour plating; but the Prime was a walking battle tank, some nine foot tall with plating similar to what you’d find on a Mako and redundant barrier generators. Their heavy military grade pistols had virtually no effect on the Geth unit, the disruptor rounds helped generate interference within its barrier matrix, but that was about it. With nothing heavier in their arsenal, and their biotics generating life saving barriers about them, all the two specialists could do was hunker down behind cover. The Prime, it appeared, had a huge advantage. As it lumbered forward through the doorway and turned toward Kaidan, who flared his barrier, the Prime was suddenly rocked by sniper fire as both Garrus and Shepard unleashed into it; their larger high velocity rounds punching through its shields to start doing damage to its armoured chassis.  Wrex gave a great bellow of rage and tossed a massive warp at the Prime, collapsing it’s shields fully even as he then opened up on it with his Raptor. Ashley gave a yell of her own and tossed a pair of grenades forwards. “Fire in the hole! Disruptor grenades incoming!”

Firing a small barrage of rockets at Kaidan, it then turned and opened fire with a heavy machinegun at Liara. Both biotics flared their barriers and poured all they had into them, staving off the Prime’s attacks. Just then the two grenades skittered to rest by its feet. There came a massive whoomphing of displaced air as the pressure wave threw everyone nearby backwards, but they all watched in satisfaction as a truly massive electrical discharge arced out from the two grenades and engulfed the command unit, frying its every circuit and melting its processors. With a great hefty crash, the sparking, smoking colossus fell to the ground in a wrecked heap.

Shepard picked up her rifle and leapt down from her nest, dusting herself off before she took a quick glance around to check her squad's status. It was only then she saw Tali, lying very still. The commander rushed to Tali's side, joining Kaidan and Liara who were already working on the little quarian. Liara had already checked vitals and applied medigel when Garrus joined them and cursed loudly when he saw the damage. "Damn it! Her suit is breached. With her compromised immune system, we need to get her back to Chakwas ASAP!"

Shepard’s expression went stony as she made the call to Karin to let her know she had a critical incoming, and Ash could see what Erisa was doing; adding yet another layer to her emotional armour in case their little quarian didn’t make it. It made her heart ache that Shepard’s first instinct was to protect herself like that. "Alenko, Vakarian... get her back to the Normandy. The rest of us will escort you as far as the divide. I’ve got words for Fai Dan and that bitch of a law keeper." Kaidan and Garrus were about to pick up Tali’s diminutive form when Wrex strode up and pushed them aside. “I’ve got her,” he growled protectively, his voice like two mill stones grinding together as he bent and scooped her up as if she was nothing more than a child. Shepard made no effort to stop him; she recognised that expression, and she waved off the other two with a shake of her head. “Let’s move it, people.”

Upon returning to the colony, Fai Dan was most effusive in his praise for their efforts. “The tower's secure, thanks to you commander.”

Shepard was having none of it though, her mood thoroughly soured by Tali’s injuries that she could only pray weren’t life threatening. “I'm only interested in what Saren sent the geth here to find, nothing more, Fai Dan.”

Fai Dan was frustratingly calm in his response, " Well if it's geth you're looking for, you've come to the right place.” Arcelia wasn’t quite as Zen about it as the colony’s leader, however. “They may have been slowed but they'll be back. They always come back.”

 Shepard inhaled slowly and held the breath, counting to ten as she did so, forcing her balled fists to relax. It really was very important she didn’t shoot anyone just yet. “When you sent the request for assistance, it was just because of the Geth, correct?. There was no sign of an immense dreadnought of alien design? Because other than the geth, we're hunting for a rogue Turian and an Asari Matriarch. They may have had both geth troopers and/or Asari commandos with them. Did you or any of your people see anything like that?”

Fai Dan just shook his head and gave her the most helpless, or hopeless, look. She was having trouble deciding which it was when he spoke again. “I'm sorry I can't be of further assistance, commander, but we don't know what they're after. They came, they attacked us. That's all we know. I'm just trying to keep this colony in one piece. If it's information you're after you may be best off finding the geth and asking them yourselves. Their main base is at the ExoGeni headquarters. It's as good a place as any to start looking if you want answers. Of course, there's an army of geth between here and there.”

Shepard gave the older man a cold, wintry smile and her eyes almost glowed at the prospect. “Yeah, they won't be an issue. How do I get there, to the HQ?”

“Take the elevator to the Skyway. It connects us to the other two buildings that ExoGeni was using. I'm pretty sure at least one of the vehicles in the garage still works.”

Arcelia cut in, her voice fair dripping with sarcasm. “Of course, you Alliance types could always do something useful for a change and actually help us out. We've beaten the Geth back three times already without your help but the problem is they keep coming back. They must have a transmitter or homing beacon down in the tunnels.”

As the conversation progressed, Ash could see the commander getting more and more frustrated, and at Arcelia’s words she feared she’d have to jump in to stop things from getting physical. She should have known better, and when Shepard turned to look the colony’s law keeper in the face, she recognised those chill eyes and even shivered at the arctic voice. “Alright, let's get one thing straight right now, Martinez. You might be what passes for the law around here, but I'm on official Spectre business. That supersedes what little authority you think you might actually have. So if I were you, I'd can the attitude. Anything I may or may not do that helps this little shithole of a burgh will get done because it helps MY mission, not your colony. You understand me? Now, given that I'm not in the habit of leaving an enemy position in my rear when advancing, I'm going to clean out these tunnels of yours. IF, and that's a big if, I come across anything that can be done to help, I will consider it as long as it does not impact on my primary objective.”

For a moment, it looked like the slender, raven haired law keeper was about to take a swing at the commander, and Ash reflexively clenched her own fists at the thought of it. _Touch her and I’ll put you on your skinny ass, you bitch,_ she thought to herself, the instinct coming out of somewhere deep inside that she knew she wasn’t quite ready to examine just yet. Thankfully, Fai Dan rescued the tense moment.

“It seems that is more than we can ask for, given the nature of your visit, commander. If indeed the opportunity presents itself to help then there is damage to our water supply system that needs fixing, our food supplies are running low due to a large alpha varren making hunting too risky, and our power system has been down since our generators took a hit in the second attack. One of our abandoned rovers out there has a power cell compatible with the system that May O'Connell is trying to repair. If you can help us out, then maybe I can get this colony operational again.”

Shepard forced her icy stare away from Arcelia and gave Fai Dan only the most noncommittal of grunts in response. “We'll see, Fai Dan. That's a hell of a laundry list and I've got bigger fish to fry down here. Depending how many working vehicles are in that garage bay you mentioned, I might be able to spare a squad to help out. In the meantime, I suggest you get your people to focus on the barricades between here and the tower. The Normandy’s marines will secure the southern entrance to the colony.” Both Fai Dan and Arcelia seemed less than happy with that idea, but were forced to acquiesce when they saw Shepard wasn’t going to be deterred.

With Wrex and Tali missing, she consolidated the remaining crew she had with her into a single squad and they entered the tower again. Their primary was to find and shut down the geth transmitter, if there was one, secondary was to provide what aid they could to the colony. Despite her icy demeanour and obvious frustration with Fai Dan and Arcelia da Silva, she wasn’t going to take it out on the innocent men and women of Zhu’s Hope by leaving them without the essentials. A good many hours later, the Normandy ground team had methodically cleared and secured every tunnel below the colony. They found all the water mains the Geth had closed and reopened each of them, thinned out a rather nasty pack of varren and salvaged some battery packs from an old transporter. Then, they located the transmitter. Taking down the transmitter itself was easy; it was the long narrow corridor, with absolutely no cover, and guarded by Geth assault drones and three Krogan warlords that made it interesting. Without Tali with them to hack the geth assault drones, the Normandy team had to do it the hard way, which meant setting Ashley and Kaidan to playing cat and mouse at the doorway, ducking in and out with shields and barriers whilst Shepard and Garrus threw up overload after overload until the drones were little more than sparking, smoking hunks of steel. The three Krogan were a lot easier to deal with. Given the narrow confines of the long corridor and the notorious temper of the krogan race, it was easy enough to provoke the three warlords into suicidal charges right at them. With no cover, they were easy meat for the two snipers whose high velocity rounds made short work of both barriers and armour. The last warlord got within effective shotgun range but fell before he could pull the trigger; a pinpoint shot from Garrus penetrating the faceplate of his helmet and killing him instantly. After that it was a simple matter for Ash to set a heavy explosive charge at the base of the transmitter and as they left the small utilities room after scavenging for anything salvageable, they detonated the charge with a satisfying ‘whoomph’. Still, traversing the entire tunnel network and dispatching roving geth patrols in between fixing up the colony’s supply problems, took them hours and as they returned to Zhu’s Hope, night was beginning to fall. None of them much liked the concept of fighting the geth in the dark, so it was decided to retire to the Normandy for the night after reinforcing the garage bay, to prevent any further geth incursions. Whilst Williams and Vakarian welded the heavy garage door shut, Erisa checked out the vehicles. There were a number of damaged rovers but only a single Mako was operational; capacity three. Tomorrow, Shepard would only be able to take a single three-man team into the heart of the Geth incursion. _Fan-fucking-tastic._  

Shepard's first stop when arriving back at the Normandy was the med bay to check on Tali, the rest of the team following close behind her. Tali’zorah had become like a little sister to nearly everyone onboard the ship, though she was especially close to Engineer Adams and Wrex. They all wanted to know how their little quarian was doing. Chakwas let everyone in for just a few moments, so they could see that Tali had rallied. The Prime’s plasma blasts had breached her suit; but hadn’t done much more than knock her out from the concussive force. It was the foreign bacteria in Feros’ atmosphere that had done the most damage to her compromised immune system. The little machinist was tired, had been pumped full of pain meds and antibiotics, and would be out of the battle rotation for at least a week, but she would recover; that cheered everyone immensely. Doc Chakwas quickly chased everyone out, all except Wrex who stood near Tali’s bed like a watchful, protective statue. He briefly reminded Shepard of a gargoyle and she had to suppress a chuckle. Knowing Tali would recover had improved her sour mood, but not by a great deal. Karin looked at Shepard. "You can have a moment, Commander, but I still need you to keep it short. I must say, it’s nice to see you come back in one piece for a change."

Shepard forced a smile and tried to keep the biting sarcasm out of her voice. "Well, I don’t exactly enjoy being shot so I decided to try avoiding all the gunfire this time.” She looked down at Tali and couldn’t stop her smile from fading to a frown. “Though if I’d known our little sister here was going to take a hit, I’d have gotten in the way sooner.” Karin knew that tone of voice and she knew Shepard was taking this personally. Wrex grunted from where he stood, his expression mirroring Erisa’s own concern. “Next time you stick with me, kid. I’ll make sure nothing gets to ya.”

Tali smiled weakly, touched by the willingness of both her captain and crewmate to take a bullet in her place. She gave a cough and replied, "Next time I'll just stick to hacking. I don't think I like getting shot."

Shepard stepped up and gently took Tali's hand, giving her some encouragement that sounded a lot like orders. "Just you concentrate on healing up and recovering, Tali. No one on my ship dies without my okay, and you _definitely_ do not have my permission. Your Captain and crew need you."

Tali responded quietly, "Thank you, Shepard, I will." With that, the commander beat a quick retreat to ditch her gear and grab a shower before hitting the gym. Even though she was drained from the day’s fighting, she was still angry and needed to work off some of that aggression; it wouldn’t do to take it out on the crew.

\------------------------------------

That was where Ash found her, hours later. Shepard had stripped down to a single-sleeved tank top that covered her scarred arm and a pair of loose sweatpants. Padded gloves protected her knuckles and she was working over a boxing bag with heavy blows. Ash paused in the doorway and watched for a moment, noting that the commander was using Muay Thai, combining rapid body blows from her gloves with potent elbow shots and what looked like devastatingly powerful knee strikes that thundered into the bag at chest height, setting it to swinging. Shepard’s nubian skin shone with sweat and her ragged black pixie cut was plastered to her neck and forehead with it; her tank top almost soaked. Ash felt her knees go weak as she stared at Shepard, and she found herself beginning to think things that were _entirely_ inappropriate, until a familiar voice pulled her mind back to the present.

“In or out, chief?”

Ash snapped out of her reverie and stepped through the doorway, letting it swish shut behind her. “In, definitely in.” _In denial, or the closet,_ she couldn’t help but think to herself, _it’s one of the two._ “Didn’t see you in the mess hall. You eaten yet?”

Shepard grunted and threw another violent knee up into the bag, sending it rocking to the left. “Not hungry.”

Ash shook her head. “You gotta eat, Skip. Was a hell of a day today and it looks like we’re in for another one tomorrow. You’ll need your energy.” Shepard shrugged noncommittally and kept working the bag.

“I’ll grab something later. You here for a reason chief, or just to pester me about my diet?”

Ashley walked deeper into the gym and steadied the heavy boxing bag, standing behind it as Erisa kept working it with body blows. “It’s not your fault Tali got hurt, Shepard. She knew the risks when she signed on, you made sure of that. Besides, you heard the doc, she’s going to be fine.”

Shepard stopped throwing punches and looked Ash square in the face. “She’s just a kid, Ash. She should be out dancing with friends, or exploring the galaxy and falling in love. Not on a fucking warship hunting down a rogue Spectre and fighting off geth armies. And you’re wrong,” she said as she started battering the bag again. “She got hurt because I didn’t do my goddamned job today. I should have made sure there was no other entrance to the tower before I sent us in. I got sloppy and someone under my command got hurt. That’s on me. Hell, I should have gotten the Council to give her a decommissioned frigate as payment for her evidence and sent her back to the Flotilla, Pilgrimage over.”

Ash had had enough of the commander’s self loathing attitude and took a risk, calling her on it. “That’s a load of crap, ma’am,” she said forcefully, emphasising the ma’am sarcastically. “I was there when she asked to come with us. She knew full well what she was getting into and you agreed, you even signed her on as official crew. You’re not always going to be able to protect everyone Shepard, you know that.”

Shepard gave Ash a cold stare and threw another combo into the bag, almost like she was trying to punch Ashley through it. “It’s different, Ash. She’s not a soldier like the rest of us, we accepted the risks the minute we put on our uniforms. Hell, I only brought T’soni onboard as an analyst. But for some reason I had no problem letting a young girl step into the line of fire alongside us!” Ash could sense Shepard’s rising anger, it thickened her south African accent, but instead of backing off, Ashley pushed forward. _Maybe if I can get her past the anger she’ll get over it..._  

“Tali’s not human though, you can’t think of her as some little kid! She’s quarian. Something tells me life on the Flotilla makes you grow up fast. You can’t afford some idealised childhood when living like they do! Hell, their kids take on more responsibility by the time they’re thirteen than most humans do by the time they get to college.”

Erisa gave another grunt and put a brutal knee right into the centre of the bag with enough power to send Ashley staggering back a step. The anger on her face was mixing with something else... grief maybe? Loss? Ash came back to the bag, staring hard at the commander. _Come on Shepard,_ she felt like screaming, _open up!_

“Dammit Ash, you don’t get it!” Shepard swore and stepped away from the bag, pressing the back of a gloved hand to her mouth and Ashley could see her eyes tearing up. “I’m going to get you all killed! That’s what happens, okay! The marines, the... people that follow me? They end up dead and I just keep surviving! I’ve lost too many people, so damn many...” she trailed off, choking back a sob. Ashley felt awful. She knew pushing Shepard like that was going to get a reaction and she knew it most likely stemmed from the commander’s experiences on both Mindoir and Akuze, but as bad as she felt for causing her to revisit that pain; she also knew without a doubt that she was the only one who Shepard would let close enough to do that kind of pushing. The commander she’d met on Eden Prime would have shut down and slipped into her Ice Queen persona rather than let anyone see her like this, anyone but her that was. It was a kind of trust that Ashley felt extremely privileged to have been given, but at the same time she was a little scared of what it meant.

Stepping in close, she laid a gentle hand on Shepard’s shoulder, and when the commander didn’t pull away, she closed the gap between them to give her friend a supportive hug. “I’m sorry,” she whispered softly, “I didn’t mean to push you like that.” Erisa hugged Ashley to her and gave a sniff as she blinked away the tears threatening to spill out of her dark eyes. There was a hint of humour in Shepard’s voice as she whispered back, and lightly punched Ash in the ribs with a padded fist. “Bullshit. You knew exactly what you were doing... and thank you. Guess I’ve been carrying that particular piece of baggage around for a while now.”

Ashley couldn’t help but smirk at the light punch and she gave Erisa a gentle squeeze as her best friend’s head rested on her shoulder. “Ya think? I know you’re carrying around some ghosts, Skipper... probably more than your share if we’re honest, but don’t think for a minute you’re going to lose us.” _Or me._ Lifting her head, she stepped back, reluctantly dropping the hug and she had to almost worm free of Shepard’s arms, the commander just as reluctant to let the moment end. _Time for a change of pace._ Ashley stepped back towards the practice mats used for sparring and hand to hand training and unbuttoned her uniform jacket, tossing it aside to stand there in a tank top and camo fatigues. “Now if you’re done feeling sorry for yourself _ma’am_ , why don’t you show me what you got and we can talk about that moment in the stairwell.”

Erisa gave a grin and wiped her cheeks with the back of a gloved hand, stepping up onto the practice mats opposite Ashley and raising her hands into a guard stance. “Oh yeah? And what moment would that be, chief? The one where you asked your commanding officer out?”

Ash grinned and shook her head as she raised her own hands into a guard. “Oh that was _so_ not what I meant and you know it.” It felt good to see Shepard smile at her, even better when she knew it wasn’t just at her but _for_ her. “See, what I find most interesting is that you interpreted it that way.”

Erisa gave a smirk at that, and then threw a couple of quick jabs at the chief, feinting to draw her guard up before she lashed out with a solid knee to the midribs. Ash ignored the feint, swaying back from the double jab then blocking the incoming knee with crossed forearms. She retaliated with a jab-left cross combo that Shepard weaved away from. “Oh please, you went beet red. You looked terrified, like I was going to pin you up against the wall and lick your collarbone. Or something,” she covered hastily. That _had_ been her exact thought at the time. Ash felt herself blush, but all she could do was hope the commander mistook it for a reaction to their physical exertions. “Of course I was terrified. That would have been a gross breach of regulations, _ma’am_ , and I would have been required to report you for inappropriate conduct. They have regs against fraternization, you know.”

Erisa couldn’t help but laugh lightly at that, and she stepped in, driving an elbow towards the side of the chief’s head. At half speed, of course. They were only sparring. “Well now, we can’t have that, can we? Imagine the scandal, first human Spectre caught in illicit affair with subordinate.” Ash felt her heart race at Shepard’s words, and though she knew they were just teasing, she started to sweat just at the idea. It was a ridiculous fantasy, but God did the idea turn her on. Smirking at the teasing, she blocked the elbow shot then dropped down and swept the ground for Shepard’s good leg. “Is that right huh? And what makes you think this lil’ ole Gunny Chief would settle for just an affair?” _My god, are we flirting?_ She thought to herself. It certainly seemed like it, and it seemed to be working, as Erisa was caught completely off guard by Ash’s reply and faltered, her reactions blunted to the point where she missed the leg sweep and found her feet cut out from under her; in more ways than one. She went crashing to the ground but recovered quickly, rolling back up onto her feet smoothly.

She could feel her skin flaming at Ash’s comeback, and though she should have stopped there, the endorphins from her workout pushed her onwards. That was the trouble with heavy exercise, it’s resultant physiological changes to the body so easily mimicked the same symptoms as sexual attraction. “You know, it’s a pity your offer to dance had only the one meaning. Now you’ll never what the answer was going to be.” Erisa couldn’t resist childishly poking her tongue out at Ash, before she lunged forward, feinting high with a snap kick from her right leg. That was a mistake, it put undue extra strain on her still healing left and she went tumbling to the ground as Ashley deftly swayed back from the poorly chosen kick. The chief wasted no time in capitalising on the commander’s mistake and took the sparring match to the ground, switching from her marine combat training to jiu jitsu and wrestling with Erisa on the mats, trying to drag her friend into a grapple.

 Conversation turned into grunts as the two women tried to get the better of one another in the ground fight; but Ashley was the fresher of the two, not having worn herself out with hours at a boxing bag before starting the spar. She eventually got the better of her friend and found herself astride the slightly slimmer black woman, her hips pressed into Erisa’s as her body weight held the commander down and her hands pinned the commander’s wrists up above her head. They panted breathlessly a moment, their faces close together as Ash loomed over Erisa. “And why’s that a pity, ma’am?”

It took every ounce of her self-discipline not to jump the chief’s bones right then and there; instead her voice went quiet as she stared up into Ash’s brown eyes and she played her last card. “Because the answer would have been yes.”

Ash’s heart started pounded a million miles a minute and she suddenly became acutely aware of how close the two of them were, and the rather... intimate positioning of their bodies. Still, she couldn’t look away from Shepard’s huge, dark eyes. They were more open than she’d ever seen them before and there was an unspoken invitation in them, one beckoning her to just dip her head a little lower. Entranced, she did just that and felt Erisa’s hot breath on her lips; the pounding of her best friend’s heart was echoed in the racing pulse beneath her fingers at Erisa’s wrists... and then they were kissing. Erisa’s head lifted up off of the practice mats and soft, full lips were pressed against her own. Without thinking, she moaned ever so slightly and returned the kiss with a chaste passion.

At that point, the watch bell sounded over the ship’s comm system, marking the shift from evening watch to dog watch, and reality came crashing back. Her face flaming with embarrassment, Ash pulled back sharply and rose, swiftly standing up from where she sat astride the commander. She made a beeline straight for the door without saying a word, only casting a confused and self-conscious look back at Erisa as the door closed. Her thoughts were in an absolute turmoil as she headed for crew quarters and her bunk, unsure of what had just happened and what any of it meant.

Back in the gym, Erisa lay on the mats, cursing anything and everything she could think of to curse; but mostly herself. She could still feel Ash’s weight on her hips, the electric feel of the other woman’s skin against hers; but most of all she could still feel the soft, tender kiss that had lasted only moments. _Oh,_ she thought to herself as the reality of what had happened sunk in, bringing with it a cold dread. _That was bad. That was really, really, stupidly bad._ She tried her best not to think about how good it had actually felt; how right. Tomorrow was going to be interesting, to say the least.


	9. Station 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mama basha = mother fucker

Despite the late, and interesting, night she’d had, it was still early in the morning when Commander Shepard emerged from her room and wandered down to the mess hall. Most of the field personnel was up and eating breakfast, with the noticeable exceptions of Tali, who was still in the medbay recovering and Wrex, who’d refused to leave the little quarian’s side.

Spotting Williams and Vakarian, she picked up a mess tray with what passed for breakfast on it and wandered over to join them. “Morning Chief, Vakarian,” she said with a nod as she pulled out a chair to sit with them. They greeted her cordially, but she couldn’t help notice that Ash wasn’t quite meeting her eyes. That hurt a little, but she couldn’t really hold it against the chief. They’d entered uncharted territory last night, not quite breaking any rules but certainly skirting the edges of them. It would take another conversation, a real one, for them to figure out what they were going to do about it. That would have to wait for another time though, they had a mission to finish here on Feros and the sooner they did; the better.

“Garrus, you and the LT will be on mission with me today. Tali was our best offensive play against the geth but Chakwas just confirmed she won’t be cleared for active duty for a week, minimum. And I doubt Wrex is going to leave medbay until she’s up and walking, at least. He’s gotten quite protective of her, if you hadn’t noticed.” Garrus gave a dry smile and nodded.

“It’s kind of hard to miss, commander. I took her a dextro breakfast and he’s hovering like a brood mother. Must be an interesting experience for Tali, having a krogan nursemaid.”

The ex C-Sec officer’s wry humour was growing on Shepard and she had to cover a snort, almost choking on her coffee as she did so. “Yeah... I bet. Anyway, you and I work well together producing overloads and laying down sabotage fields, so between us we should have no problem disabling the geth forces we run into. Long enough at least that we can put them down permanently with disruptors and AP rounds. Alenko is coming as biotic support; his singularities should be able to keep any hostiles bottlenecked long enough for us to pick them off. Mission is set for zero nine hundred.” Garrus nodded once, his mandibles clacking slowly. “I’ll finish eating then prep.”

Ash had been listening to the conversation and privately, she had to admit she was glad she wasn’t assigned to the mission today. Last night things she’d only thought about in the theoretical had come dangerously close to becoming a reality, and as much as she might fantasise about her and Shepard in that way, she wasn’t ready yet for it to become something tangible. That would mean having to confront some things about herself she wasn’t sure she was ready to accept yet. She came back to the moment when she heard her name being called.

“Ash. Ash?”

“Hmm, yes ma’am?”

Shepard gave her that maddeningly soft smile again, and spoke. “Yesterday’s little fracas with that geth command unit proved we can’t afford to have anyone who’s not a qualified combatant on mission with us. I need you to spend the day with Dr T’soni while we’re gone. She’s got good instincts and has had some training with Asari commandos, but I need you to do a full assessment and get her up to speed. Can you handle that?”

She felt a spike of annoyance, as if Shepard was questioning her competence, but pushed it aside. She knew the commander trusted her, probably more than she trusted anyone else; she just didn’t like the idea of having to spend time with the asari. She didn’t like the way Liara looked at Shepard sometimes, all wide eyed and admiring. It made her jealous when she didn’t have the right to be. Though after last night... “Sure thing ma’am. I’ll make sure she’s ready for combat duty.” Ash could put her emotions aside, she was a professional after all, and training grunts was all a part of her job.

Shepard nodded. “Good. That’s assignments sorted out. Garrus, I’ll see you and Alenko at the airlock, zero nine hundred.”  

\-------------------------------

Shepard slew the wheel left and right, avoiding the barricades and debris on the two tiered roadways as the Mako bobbed and weaved its way across the Skyway, headed toward the ExoGeni HQ in the second Prothean spire. Garrus was at his usual position in the Mako’s gunnery chair, firing the main 40mm cannon and the heavy .50 calibre machinegun, while Kaidan operated comms and the targeting systems from the navigator’s seat. It didn't take them long to get into a battle rhythm, and the going was relatively easy, though slow and tedious as they had to eliminate geth rocket troopers and the heavier Armatures as they went. The tedium was broken when Kaidan suddenly piped up, "Commander, I think we’ve got survivors holding out in the building ahead!"

Alenko zeroed in on the comm. signal and cleared up the interference before opening the channel up on the Mako’s internal speakers so the entire team could hear the broadcast. "This is Doctor Juliana Baynham, head researcher of Research Station 37. Is there anyone on this channel? Damn it, I'm showing movement on the Skyway, and it's not Geth! Who's out there?" Kaidan tried clearing up the channel enough to contact them, but got no response, evidently the Geth were managing to jam at least some signals; and he theorized that the research station’s transmitter was probably powerful enough to get a signal out whilst the Mako’s wasn’t. In any case, two-way communication was not possible. The Mako entered the first building and started climbing via a series of ramps, and eventually came upon what appeared to be a fortified entrance. Shepard slammed on the brakes. “Dismount. We better make sure we’re not leaving any geth outposts behind us. We don’t need a concerted defence cutting us off from Zhu’s Hope and the Normandy.” The team exited the armoured vehicle and Shepard took point, cloaking as she snuck toward the entrance. Once close enough, she opened her omnitool for a passive scan and quickly realized this fortified little bunker was the temporary home of the survivors heard on the radio.

Deactivating her cloak, she held her Viper in a ready position and stepped out into plain view, keeping her posture and stance neutral. Last thing she needed was some nervous corporate security stooge filling her full of holes. As soon as she was spotted, rifles were raised and the entire team were lit up with laser dots from some pretty basic targeting systems. Shepard ignored them, but Garrus looked down at the one on his chest and brushed at it disdainfully. “Amateurs,” he said into his mike, “who uses laser dots anymore? They may as well yell out their positions and strength.” Erisa grinned under her helmet and shrugged. She was starting to warm to Garrus, they thought alike.

“Stop right there!” shouted a harsh male voice. The speaker pushed himself to the front, confronting Shepard.

“Take it easy, Jeong, they’re obviously not Geth.” This one was an older woman, her voice recognizable as the one we had heard over the radio.

Shepard shouldered her rifle and raised her free hand in a peaceable gesture. “Okay folks, let’s all take a breath and relax. My name is Commander Shepard, my crew and I are Alliance military. We’re here because someone called for an exterminator. I hear you folks have something of a geth problem.”

That earned a few shaky laughs from the corporate security men nearby and they relaxed a little, the red dots disappearing from their armour. “Thank god, someone got our distress call,” said the woman, breathing a relieved sigh. “I’m Doctor Juliana Baynham; I’m probably the senior remaining scientist from the ExoGeni installation. This is Ethan Jeong, the last surviving corporate representative.”

“I’m in charge here, Juliana!” snapped Jeong. “What are you doing here, soldier?”

Shepard looked the corporate rep up and down with wintry eyes, assessing the man. It was obvious he was a company man, and that meant he was most likely a vile little toady. Her best bet was to pull rank and establish that her authority exceeded his by several degrees. “You’ll address me as Commander, Jeong. And I’m a marine, not some dirt humpin’ trooper. My crew and I are here to investigate, and eradicate, this Geth incursion. There anything you think I need to know in regards to that?”

Jeong shook his head. “No. This is a small colony. We don’t have anything the Geth could want.”

Baynham interrupted. “Commander, you would have come through the spaceport facility?”

“That’s affirmative, Doctor. The colonists at Zhu’s Hope have endured heavy attacks from the Geth, but most of them have survived. We were able to help them repel the geth and reinforce their defences. The colony is relatively operational, considering the damage.”

She frowned at Jeong. “I thought you said the colonists were all dead.”

“I said they were  _probably_  dead,” said Jeong.

Baynham pleased, “Well, now maybe we could join them?”

Jeong was adamant, “No, it’s too dangerous! The Geth could attack again at any time.”

Shepard could feel her teeth grinding in irritation. “As much as I hate to agree with a company man, Dr Baynham, Jeong is correct. We may have cleared the skyway, but with their dropships the Geth have the capability to reinforce or retake any position that’s been overrun. They _will_ send reinforcements. If you haven’t been attacked yet here, I'd recommend you to stay put until we investigate the main ExoGeni facility and can escort you out. Safely.”

“Why do you need to investigate there?” demanded Jeong sharply.

Shepard turned those dark, cold eyes on the ExoGeni rep again, and Kaidan couldn’t help but throw Garrus a smirk; they both knew what was coming next.

“Commander,” she said simply.

Jeong looked confused, his brows furrowed until the commander clarified her cryptic remark. “Commander, Jeong. You will address me as Commander. Or if it suits your preferences, _Spectre._ ”

Jeong scoffed at her claims and puffed out his chest, desperate to cling to his authority. “That facility is corporate property, commander. You have no authorization to trespass on it.”

Shepard smiled sweetly, a sign that things were soon about to get... messy. “I don’t need your authorization, Jeong. This,” she said, slowly lowering the barrel of her Viper until it was levelled at his chest, “is my authorization. And since you appear to be hard of hearing, I will repeat myself just this once. I’m a Council Spectre. I go where my mission dictates, not little toadies like you, and regardless of any corporate claims.”

“A  _Spectre?”_

Shepard grit her teeth and coolly presented her Council identification to the Exogeni rep.

“I’ve been sent here by Council decree, Jeong. As such, I have _complete_ authority over this situation. So if I were you, I would be very careful what you say next. I’m starting not to like you, and that is not a good thing.”

Jeong fell silent, though his frustration was plainly clear on his face. Juliana turned to the commander. “Commander, if you’re going to the main facility, would you keep an eye open for my daughter? Her name is Lizbeth; she’s a scientist in the main research office.”

Looking at Baynham and seeing a worried mother, Shepard's ice cold demeanour thawed slightly. “I’ll see what we can do, if you think she could have survived the Geth.”

“Sure, there are some places she could have hidden,” Jeong muttered darkly. “For a short time.”

As they walked away from the bunker and back to the Mako, Garrus fell in beside Shepard and grinned. “I knew working with a Spectre would be better than life at C-Sec.”

Shepard glanced sideways, an eyebrow raised in query. “I didn't know you'd worked with a Spectre before.”

“Well I haven't, but I know what they're like. Spectres make their own rules. You're free to handle things your way. At C-Sec you're buried by rules. The damn bureaucrats are always on your back.”

The commander gave her turian comrade a smirk. “Yeah, I have to admit being a Spectre has its advantages.”

“Exactly my point. If I'm trying to take down a suspect, it shouldn't matter how I do it, as long as I do it. But C-Sec wants it done their way. Protocol and procedure come first. That's why I left.” Garrus stopped beside the Mako and punched the button to open the hatch. Shepard waited as Kaidan climbed in and she nodded, collapsing her Viper.

“I can understand the sentiment. My Alliance disciplinary file isn't exactly what you'd call 'ideal'. I've had my own issues with protocols and procedures. You telling me you quit because you didn't like the way they do things?”

Garrus rubbed the back of his neck as he stowed his own weapon on its hardpoint. “There's more to it than that. It didn't start out so bad, but as I rose in the ranks I got saddled with more and more red tape. C-Sec's handling of Saren was typical; I just couldn't take it anymore. I hate leaving...”

“Don't dwell on it,” Shepard said with a shrug, “you did the right thing. Life's too short to sit around waiting for things to happen. From my experience, if you really want to make a difference you have to get out the field, sink your hands into the muck and filth and get dirty to get the job done.”

Climbing into the Mako, Garrus settled into the gunner’s seat again. “Yeah, you're probably right. Either way, I plan to make the most of this. And without C-Sec headquarters looking over my shoulder, well, maybe I can get the job done my way for a change.”

Shepard sealed the hatch behind her and clambered past Kaidan into the driver’s chair, starting up the armoured rover. “As long as you do your job and do it well, you're free to go about your business as you see fit, Garrus.”

Gunning the engines on the Mako, Shepard continued up the ramps to the next Skyway entrance and proceeded onward across the huge bridge, their now familiar battle strategy coming into play as they battled more rocket troops and Armatures. Things changed when they arrived at the third building, where Exogeni had its research station and HQ. It was much more strongly defended, with a greater variety of Geth, including big Juggernauts and frog-like, hopping sniper platforms that proved particularly irritating to nail down. Instead of risking the fight on foot, they stayed inside the Mako and made good use of its heavy barriers and mounted weapons. The gap into the station’s entrance was narrow and forced the more powerful Juggernauts to close ranks on their approach, making them easy meat for the 40mm cannon, especially when loaded with incendiary shells that burnt clean through their armour. The leaping platforms were much harder to nail down, but Garrus changed tactics and switched to fragmentation shells, catching the geth hoppers in a blast radius rather than trying to hit them directly. The fight was long but Kaidan balanced the Mako’s barriers with practiced ease and ran the auto-repair systems once the fighting was over, making sure the vehicle would be combat ready for their return to Zhu’s Hope. Once they were ready, the fire team exited the Mako and drew their weapons before moving past the foyer and into the facility proper. Shepard’s scowl was darker than usual and Kaidan was concerned. "Commander, are you all right? You seem a little...”

“A little what, LT?” she snapped at him as they moved quietly towards the first stairwell.

Kaidan grimaced, her response only confirming his suspicions. “Well, a little more... Shepard-y than usual.”

She looked over at him, non-plussed. “Shepard-y? That’s not even a word, LT. What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Garrus chimed in from their six, not even looking back at them as he protected the rear and right flank. “Cantankerous. Mean. Pissed off.”

Kaidan had to hide a grin. “Well, I’d have said disagreeable, or maybe belligerent, but yeah. Garrus’ description works too.”

Shepard grimaced. "I'm fine, you two.  I’m just... irritated,” she said, choosing her words carefully, “everyone keeps lying to us. Someone knows something about why the Geth are here, but no one’s talking. I'm about ready to...”

“Shoot someone?” offered Garrus.

“Yeah, and if you two don’t shut up I’ll flip a coin between the pair of you. Now zip it and keep your damn eyes open and your mouths shut. I’d really rather we didn’t walk into a geth ambush because my squad was discussing how... Shepard-y I am today instead of doing their jobs."

Both Garrus and Kaidan shared a quick grin between the two of them then chorused back an “Aye ma’am.”

The nearest stairwell was blocked by rubble and the main entrance was blocked by a shimmering blue barrier field, but a further search located a section of collapsed floor that provided access to the basement and a way around the barred entrance to the main building. Given no alternative, the team dropped into the hole.

The basement was wet, with standing water and rubble laying everywhere, but there was a door on the far side that seemed easy enough to get to... until someone shot at Shepard. It was just a pistol shot that was deflected easily by her kinetic barrier, her HUD barely registering a blip on the power consumption meter. "You're not Geth!" The shooter was a young woman, looking scared to death.

Shepard’s entire squad had reflexively raised their weapons in the direction of the shooter, but when she saw who’d taken the shot, Shepard quickly dipped the barrel of her rifle and swore viciously. " _Mama basha!_ What the hell are you doing, lady? I almost took your head off!"

The woman trembled, dropping her pistol, squeaking, "Hiding from the Geth?"

"Do I look like I have a fucking flashlight for a head?" Shepard snatched up the pistol and ejected the thermal clip before handing them back to the woman. "Next time, make sure you identify your target before you open fire, okay? And aim for the main sensor, not the centre mass. Geth aren’t like organics. You have to destroy the CPU to take one down quickly. Now, who the hell are you?

“Lizbeth Baynham,” said the woman, rather contritely.

“You’re Doctor Baynham’s daughter?”

“That’s right. You talked to her? Mom’s alive?” Lizbeth noticeably brightened.

Shepard grunted. “She and some of the others made it to the midpoint of the skyway. They’re hiding out there, safe from the Geth for the moment.”

“Are you here to rescue me?”

“Not exactly, but your mother did ask me to look for you while we were here. My team and I are here to eliminate the Geth. Someone very bad sent them here for something, or someone, and I need to figure out what. As far as I can tell there’s nothing here to warrant their presence; no prothean tech of any great note, this star system has no tactical value... even planetary resources are limited.”

Lizbeth seemed to hesitate, her face conflicted and Shepard eyed her coldly. “You know something, don’t you?”

The young woman shook her head at first, but it seemed more reflexive than a true attempt at deceit, and she finally nodded, seemingly resolute in her decision to talk. “I think I know. They’re after the Thorian.”

“The what now?”

“The Thorian, although ExoGeni has classified it as Species 37,” Baynham repeated. “It’s a native plant life-form. I don’t know much, I was assigned to a different project, but the primary science team has been excited about it for weeks, ever since it was discovered.”

“Must be a hell of a plant for a megacorp like ExoGeni to get excited about it. Any idea what the hell it is?” demanded Shepard.

“I’m not sure, but a research station is as bad for rumours as a high school. Word coming out of the labs was that it has some kind of mind-controlling properties. ExoGeni must have been interested in it for military applications.”

“Smart,” Garrus interjected. “Seed an enemy location with a mind controlling plant and you can take control with zero casualties or damage to any installations.” He paused as he thought it through. “You know Shepard; this could explain the colony's odd behaviour.”

Shepard had had the same thought and nodded. “Ms. Baynham, what else do you know about this Thorian thing? Any idea where is it?”

“I’m sorry commander, no. I’ve never seen it, or any of the relevant lab reports. I only know what I’ve heard through the rumour mill.”

Shepard pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head in frustration. “Dammit! The bastard was here and we missed him!” She looked back up to Kaidan and Garrus, her gut was trying to tell her something but she wasn’t sure what. “Okay, Saren's gone, but the Geth are still here. If his only goal was to obtain this Thorian life-form, then why leave the geth here? He had to know we’d get the reports and come investigate. Something about this still isn’t making sense.”

Kaidan agreed, “You’re right, commander. Tactically, it’s a mistake, and from what we know of Saren, he doesn’t make mistakes, not ones as obvious as this. We’re going to have to keep moving forward if we want to get to the bottom of this. Maybe the ExoGeni files have more information? Ms. Baynham, can you stay safe until we get the barrier curtains down?”

The girl looked haunted. “I suppose. I lasted this long. You will come back for me, right?”

Shepard gave her a blunt nod. “I’m not in the habit of leaving people behind, Ms. Baynham. Find somewhere safe and hole up. If you have to engage the geth, remember what I told you, aim for the main sensor.” Shepard paused and gave her a warning look. “You shoot at me again and we’re going to have a problem though, got that?”

Lizbeth nodded meekly. “Yes commander. Oh, here! It's my pass. It should open any doors and info terminals you come across!"

Shepard grudgingly thanked her and they moved on, passing through the next door and finding a stairwell that climbed back into the main facility, on the far side of the barrier curtain. Near the top of the stairs, Shepard stopped suddenly and held up her fist. The team could hear a voice, an irritated Krogan, somewhere above. "Stupid machine!"

She glanced at Garrus, then passed her hand over her face, right to left and back again. It was a standard signal for infiltrators to cloak, then she jerked her thumb up the steps and quietly said, "We move slow and fire on my count. I’ll use disruptors to drop his kinetic barriers; you finish him with AP rounds. If your first shot doesn’t drop him, I’ll back you up."

Garrus smiled dryly. “I like it, neat and efficient.” She smiled back and nodded. “Wait here, LT. We’ll take care of this. If we come back your way in a hurry, block the landing with a singularity.” Kaidan nodded in confirmation then watched as both Shepard and Vakarian shimmered in the half light and vanished beneath their optical camouflage. The fight wasn’t really fair; in fact you couldn’t even call it a fight. It was more a flat out assassination. Both snipers had moved into the corridor behind the irate krogan and Shepard had taken a knee so Garrus could fire over her. On her command they both sighted in on their target then paused. “Fire,” she whispered. A rapid barrage of high velocity disruptor rounds tore apart the krogan’s shields before he even knew what was happening, and by the time he’d turned to search for the source of the incoming fire, Garrus squeezed the trigger, cycling his own Viper smoothly and swiftly. Three tungsten carbide rounds punched straight through the krogan’s Titan ceramisteel helmet and the big warrior fell to the ground, dead. Two cloaks dissolved into nothing and Shepard stood, offering Garrus a high five. She grinned and spoke. “Scoped,”

“And dropped,” he finished with a smile. As Shepard approached the dead warlord, the terminal started speaking. "Hello, Dr Baynham." After a brief question and answer period about the Thorian, also referred to as Species 37, the story was out. Species 37 was a sentient plant that released spores with mind-control properties, which infected anyone who came in contact with them. Over an estimated week-long period, there was sufficient exposure for the compromised colonist to come under the Thorian's control. Species 37 then used the colonist as a thrall, doing its bidding; providing whatever service the Thorian desired. Worse yet, Lizbeth Baynham and Ethan Jeong both knew about the experiments, and willingly let every single colonist become unwittingly exposed.


	10. The Thorian

After finding out the ExoGeni scientists had known what was going on all along, Shepard was fuming, her voice arctic as she spoke. "That snivelling little weasel! That's the real reason why Jeong didn't want to move to Zhu's Hope... he knew they'd be exposed to the spores."

Kaidan quickly thought it through and agreed. "That must be what Saren wanted. If he can figure out how to harness the physiology behind its mind control, he could theoretically expose entire planets to the spores and turn everyone exposed to his own ends."

Shepard immediately tried her comms in an attempt to warn the Normandy, and got nothing but static; the geth jamming they’d detected earlier was preventing their hard suits radios from getting a signal out. " _Unatombwa na farasi!”_ she swore, her accent thick with her anger. “Alright, time to get moving. We need to get that barrier down and get the hell out of here. Let's move like we got a purpose, people!" The battle to get out of ExoGeni would turn out to be just as bad, if not worse, than the one that got them in. Heavy power cabling had been run throughout the entire ExoGeni complex and when they followed the cables back to their source, the team discovered huge, claw-like grappling arms that were holding a Geth dropship onto the side of the building. Garrus took a quick scan where the cabling ran into sockets on the claw arms and confirmed their suspicions. “There’s enough power running through these cables to generate a significant barrier, commander. I think the dropship has to be powering the curtain and running the comm. jamming.” Shepard examined the data briefly and agreed with the turian’s assessment. “Looks like the only way we’re disabling that barrier and getting out of here is by finding some way to shake off that dropship. Thoughts?”

Kaidan did a quick inventory of their field equipment and shook his head slowly. “We weren’t anticipating this commander, as such we loaded up heavily on anti-platform tech. The Mako has a few satchel charges that could blast these claws loose; or at least cut the power cabling. But...”

“But that’s no use to us here, I get it. Thanks anyway LT. Okay, looks like we press on and look for something else. It’s possible the geth have brought supplies into the building that we could appropriate, or failing that if we can get to the grow labs the VI mentioned, we might find a decent source of ammonium nitrates.” Garrus picked up that line of thought and grinned. “I like it, commander. Modify a fusion grenade to act as a detonator and we’d be able to fashion a rudimentary fertilizer bomb. Crude, but effective enough for our needs.”  The Normandy fire team began to hunt high and low, through multiple rooms over the several floors of the ExoGeni station; and although they found another set of grappling claws and the concurrent power cabling, they had yet to find any sign of a geth supply cache or a grow lab. Things were starting to look desperate when they at last came upon a shuttle bay and its control room. Shepard had been scouting ahead under cloak when she’d found it and had taken the time to capture a passive scan off the room, picking up geth numbers and positions. The Geth were dug in, commanded by a Prime no less, and it would take a concerted effort to dislodge them. But without a full squad, or at least Ashley and Wrex, they didn’t have the firepower to just blast their way in. That meant adopting a more tactical, considered battle plan, something both Shepard and Garrus preferred. 

The two snipers moved in first, staying cloaked and each of them took a flank, enabling them to catch the geth in a crossfire once they engaged. Once in position, they each charged as powerful an overload as they dared on their omnitools then gently rolled what looked like small steel cylinders into position along the brushed concrete flooring. The geth immediately picked up on the movement and noise; but by then it was too late. The cylinders were SFGs, a favourite tool of most infiltrators and agents. Sabotage Field Generators, they built to a capacity charge and then broadcast a low level energy field that prevented heat sinks on both modern hard suits and weapons from venting. To a layman, they did what it said on the tin; sabotaged any weapon within the field’s effective range. Once the SFGs were in position, with geth already moving to investigate, both Shepard and Garrus triggered them then stood and blasted the nearest platforms with their overloads. The two troopers went flying backwards, sparking and smoking. The other geth units went into combat status immediately and stood, only to find that without operational heat sinks or thermal clips, their weapons weren’t functional.

That was Kaidan’s cue to enter the fray, stepping out from the cover provided by the doorway to lay down as strong a singularity as he could in the room’s centre. Everything nearby that wasn’t bolted down was quickly sucked into the mass effect field then dispatched by either one of the snipers; clean headshots destroying CPUs and microprocessors. With the sudden shift in who held the tactical advantage, the Geth forces found themselves quickly reduced by some measure and the Prime got desperate and came out to play. Once it revealed itself, the battle was over relatively quickly. It was not designed to endure a concerted attack by tech based experts. Its shields fell quickly to double overloads and a heavy warp, and then the combined conventional firepower of disruptors and AP rounds easily terminated the engagement. Once in the room, Shepard found and examined the control panel there. The small shuttle bay’s outer door had been sheared in two by one of the grappling arms that held the geth dropship in place on the tall spire and the panel controlled the power settings on the external door. Shepard gave the entire system a once over, scanning it with her omnitool and running a diagnostic on the control panel. It seemed likely that if they rerouted the hydraulics and ramped up the pressure they might be able to get the external doors to slam shut on the claw. Orders were given and after a few minutes of tinkering, they were ready to give it a try. “Stand clear!” she yelled loudly, then triggered the panel’s ‘close bay doors’ subroutine. The heavy steel door overloaded and slammed shut with a terrible graunching sound as it met the grappling arm, shearing off the claw under its reworked high pressure. Without the support of all three grapples, the other two couldn’t support the weight of the Geth dropship and it slowly lost its grip on the side of the building, finally breaking free as the other arms tore loose and it tumbled backwards, crashing to the planet's surface. The Geth, and the power to the barriers, were gone.

“. . . come on, Commander, you’ve got to be out there. Normandy calling ground team. Come in please.”

“This is Shepard. We read you, Normandy.”

“Commander! Damn, am I glad to hear your voice. We’re under lockdown here ma’am. The colonists... they’ve gone wild. They’re throwing themselves at the doors, trying to break into the ship.”

“This day just gets better and better,” she muttered darkly. “What happened? Put the XO on.”

“I’m here, Commander,” said Pressly. “The crew are safe, I ordered a general retreat to the ship the moment the marines guarding the docks reported that the colonists were starting to behave strangely. By the time they arrived at the docks and started to attack the ship we had already gone into lock down.”

“Good job, XO. When did this happen?”

“Must have been a little under two hours ago, ma’am. I’ve had Moreau trying to raise you ever since. Are you okay?”

“We’re okay, for now at least. In the meantime, do not under any circumstances let any of the colonists on board. I want you to seal life support and break the umbilical connection. Bypass the air recycling systems and go straight to reserve tanks. Have Chief Williams ready the rest of the ground team for immediate deployment; full hard suits including environmental seals. That includes Urdnot Wrex, tell him it’s a direct order if you have to. In the meantime, get the rest of the crew busy running decon on anything that’s been exposed to the atmosphere here, down to the last rivet in the airlock’s deck plates. I’ll explain later. Right now we’re on our way back to you. I’ll call if I have any more news.”

“Aye-aye, Commander. Normandy out.”

Shepard led the team back to Lizbeth Baynham's position, her body language like that of a caged panther, loping and stalking, almost seething with bottled rage. Stowing her Viper, she pulled free her Tempest and when they rounded the corner to where Lizbeth was hiding, she levelled the SMG directly at the terrified young scientist. Her voice was flat and uncompromising, eyes devoid of all compassion. "According to the station logs, Ms. Baynham, you knew _exactly_ what was going on here. You knowingly withheld vital intelligence,” she said coolly, “and in doing so you put my ship, my crew and my mission in jeopardy. So I want you to think long and hard about your answer to my next question. Is there any reason I shouldn’t shoot you dead right now?”

She looked down, ashamed, "Yes, I knew! I was going to report them, but they threatened to take me to the Thorian! To enthrall me! If that happened, I knew the truth would never get out. I had finally had enough and was getting ready to call in Colonial Affairs, ask them to come and mount an investigation, when the alarms sounded. I stayed behind to send the message, which is why I missed the evacuation. But I was too late. The power went out before I could transmit, and I got stuck here with the Geth for over a week.”

Shepard watched Lizbeth’s reaction with an impassive face, looking for any further sign of deceit. When she found none, she dipped the barrel of her weapon. “Congratulations, Ms. Baynham, you get to live. You’re coming with me, however. With the data we’ve collected and your testimony, I’m going to hand this over to the Spectre offices for a full investigation into ExoGeni’s breaches of Council conventions banning the development of biogenic weapons and sentient testing. Now get moving, we’ve got a long way to go before we’re clear of danger. LT! Take Ms. Baynham into custody.”

Kaidan nodded and took Lizbeth by the arm. “This way, Ms. Baynham.” Lizbeth’s shoulders slumped as Alenko relieved her of her weapon and led her back to the Mako, where she squeezed into the small space at the back usually reserved for equipment. Revving the engines as they started up, Shepard took the wheel and they proceeded back to the middle building and the refugees. As the team approached, they heard Jeong, shouting. Shepard signalled everyone into cover, and they watched events unfold.

“Everybody be quiet! Just let me think!”

Juliana Baynham retorted, “You can’t get away with this, Jeong. These are human beings you’re talking about writing off!”

“Somebody get her out of here!”

A security guard moved forward and took hold of Juliana. At this, Lizbeth tore free of Kaidan’s grasp and leapt out of cover. “Get your hands off her, you sons of bitches!”

Jeong whirled, waving a pistol in the air. “All right, all of you come out where I can see you!”

Shepard walked out into the open, her Tempest in hand as she coolly stared at both Lizbeth and Jeong.

“Shepard. Damn it, I knew it was too much to hope that the Geth would kill all of you. I found some interesting things about you in the ExoGeni database. I know what happened to you on Akuze, but there’s no need for that kind of slaughter here.”

Shepard continued to watch the Exogeni rep with an emotionless gaze. “Ethan Jeong, under the auspices of the Council Spectres, I’m placing you under arrest for violations of Council conventions regarding biogenic research and sentient testing. I suggest you order your security detail to stand down and relinquish their weapons. That includes you.”

“You don’t understand. It’s not that easy.” Jeong made a nervous gesture, waving his sidearm around dangerously and looking very unsure of himself. “Communications are back up. I was able to report to ExoGeni corporate. They want this place purged.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Shepard warned. “Your corporation has broken a half dozen treaties and conventions here, they might expect to get away with it, but I’m not going to let that happen.”

“There’s something here far more valuable than you can imagine, Shepard! The Council won’t let you bring this to a trial, not once they reveal their findings to the scientific community!” said Jeong.

“That’s bullshit and you know it. The Thorian, and any research pertaining to it, was never going to be revealed to the scientific community. Your company was going to use it to make billions selling outlawed weaponry to non Council races. Well, not anymore. Now it’s evidence that’s going to bring down Exogeni.”

“Damn it,” swore Jeong. “How much do you know?”

“The whole story, I’m afraid.”

“Wait a minute,” interjected Juliana. “What’s the Thorian?”

“It’s a telepathic life-form living under Zhu’s Hope,” explained Lizbeth. “It took over the minds of the colonists. ExoGeni knew all along, and they've been studying the effects.”

“You knew about this?” demanded Juliana.

Lizbeth only hung her head in silent shame.

Juliana turned on Jeong. “You won’t get away with this.”

“So you keep saying, but nobody is going to miss a few colonists. An ExoGeni security team is already en route. They’ll deal with this.”

Shepard had had enough and with Jeong distracted by Juliana, she swiftly raised her Tempest and fired a single shot. A shimmering spray of ruby red bloomed out the back of Jeong’s head and his body collapsed lifelessly to the ground. Garrus and Kaidan immediately raised their weapons in the direction of the ExoGeni security team and Shepard shifted her aim to the nearest of them. She addressed them in a voice so cold and empty it almost had its own echo. “ExoGeni representative Ethan Jeong was killed whilst resisting arrest. That’s what my report to the Spectre offices onboard the Citadel will say. Am I going to have to add any more names to that report?” She watched as the few security guards in the room quickly decided that discretion was the better part of valour and slowly laid down their arms. “Lieutenant, secure these men and police their weapons.”

“Aye ma’am!”

Turning back to the scientists, she saw the look of horror on many of their faces and pointedly ignored it. "Doctor Baynham, may I leave you in charge here? The Alliance, as a recognised member of the Council’s associated races, will ensure the ExoGeni team en route is... discouraged from entering the system.” Juliana nodded, still not yet able to speak after witnessing the commander’s brutal resolution to the situation. Shepard looked about at the gathered scientists and administrators. “Now, do any of you have a problem with the change of leadership you just witnessed?" When none protested, she had Garrus distribute the security team’s weapons to those in support of Dr Baynham’s leadership. "Ok, let's load up and go find us a Thorian."

Kaidan finished securing the ExoGeni guards with their own cuffs then turned the keys over to Dr Baynham. "Ah, commander, what are we going to do about the colonists? They aren't going to let us get anywhere close to that thing... we’ll have to fight our way through what are essentially innocent civilians."

Juliana and Lizbeth Baynham approached them. “Commander? We might have an idea. From what Lizbeth tells me, the Thorian exerts its control by infiltrating the human nervous system with its spores. Maybe we can counteract the effect temporarily by administering tetraclopine.”

Shepard frowned. “What’s that?”

Lizbeth broke in to explain. “It’s a compound we use in the grow-labs, as part of our standard insecticide. It acts as a neuromuscular degenerator. Against the Thorian-affected humans it should have an anaesthetic effect, knocking them out and suspending the effect of the Thorian’s spores for a brief period.”

Shepard paused to consider it. “Gas the entire colony? It could work, but we’d still be facing casualties. I’d prefer a less... permanent solution. Eliminating those responsible for what’s happened at Zhu’s Hope is one thing, but gassing all the colonists sounds a lot like I’d just be doing ExoGeni’s dirty work for them.”

“Not at all,” Juliana protested. “In the concentrations we’re suggesting you use, the compound should be completely harmless in the long run. It might help you incapacitate the colonists without using lethal force against them.”

Garrus weighed in. “It’s tactically sound, Shepard. With very little effort we could adapt our grenades to disperse the gas, it’s no different from a smoke grenade really. I suggest we at least try it.” Shepard nodded. “It works for me. How much of this chemical do you have on hand, Doctor?”

“Not much,” Juliana admitted. “I’ll work with you to adapt the grenades.”

\-------------------------------

Back in the Mako, Shepard opened a channel to the Normandy. “Normandy, this is ground team, come in.”

Joker’s voice came back over the channel almost immediately. “This is Normandy. What do you need, commander?  


“I need you to contact Fifth Fleet and deliver a message to Admiral Hackett. Tell him that at the request of Council Spectre Shepard, the offices of the Spectres would be most grateful if the nearest Alliance vessel to the Theseus System in the Attican Beta cluster could be diverted to Feros. An ExoGeni frigate is inbound and we would appreciate it if the Alliance would encourage them to go play somewhere else. ExoGeni’s activities at Zhu’s Hope and Research Station 37 are now officially under Spectre investigation.”

Joker gave a low whistle over the line. “That’s... a hell of a message, commander.”

Shepard grunted over the line. “You can assure the admiral an official request will be forthcoming as soon as I get back to the ship. Fifth Fleet’s ass is covered; the Council will be taking the heat on this.”

“Roger that ma’am, message away.” The team once again found themselves tearing along the damaged and battered Skyway, but without the geth dropship, the road was clear of hostile forces, making the trip relatively quick. When they finally rolled up to the garage, the door would not open. The team was forced to abandon the Mako and approach on foot. An odd figure sat off to the side, unnoticed until it started to rise. It almost looked like a husk, except it was purely organic, no tubes and cables. As it approached, Kaidan peered at it in curiosity. "”What the hell is that thing? Looks like it’s made entirely of plant fibres and tendrils. You think maybe the Thorian is creating its own proxies, simply imitating human shape?"

Garrus watched it stumbling towards Kaidan and grimaced. “You guess is as good as mine, Lieutenant; but if it’s Thorian in nature, that makes it a plant.” He smoothly plucked his Tsunami assault rifle from off of his back and set it to incendiary. “That means it will burn.” A single shot impacted its chest and the chemical compounds imbedded in the round ignited, setting the husk-like figure ablaze with a terrible, inhuman screaming. That scream seemed to trigger something and the previously stubborn door suddenly flew open and almost two dozen more of the Thorian creatures poured out of the garage. “Okay,” Garrus said dryly, “maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.”

The three man fire team backed up quickly and pulled their weapons. As the first of the organic husks got close, Kaidan hit them with a shockwave, blasting them backward into their own number. That gave them a little breathing room at least and Shepard called the ball. “Switch to incendiaries and let’s burn ‘em up! LT, keep ‘em off us when they get too close!” Switching her Tempest to inferno rounds, she took aim at the nearest grouping of plant men and grinned viciously. “Hose ‘em!” The high pitched staccato of her SMG and the heavier rattle of Garrus’ Tsunami filled the air and the front ranks of the advancing mob shook violently as they were riddled with holes. The screaming started again as soon as the rounds ignited, turning the plant men into burning firebrands. A crackle of blue light filled the air around them and Kaidan threw his hand forward; releasing another shockwave that drove the fiery husks back into their own ranks; setting the rest of them alight. As the last one fell, Shepard turned to her team and grinned. “Good work with that last wave Alenko. Anyone feel like barbecue?”  

The good humour didn’t last long as shots began to ring out from within the garage. The colonists, mind controlled by the Thorian, started shooting, and the team was forced to duck into cover behind the Mako. The inside of the garage was a broad expanse of nothing; no cover to be seen, no way to hide the approach to the colony. Shepard smiled to herself, this was exactly the kind of scenario Infiltrators were trained for. “LT, Vakarian, draw their fire to the right. Remember, no casualties, just keep them busy. I got this..." Before Kaidan or Garrus could reply, she activated her tactical cloak and moved off to the left, slipping into the garage unseen. Keeping to the wall, she watched as her squad mates drew the enemies’ fire, and closed in. Once within range, she pulled free one of her modified grenades and rolled it across the ground towards the controlled colonists. As soon as it was amongst them, she triggered its detonator and watched as a cloud of gas engulfed them. The colonists dropped like stones and Shepard deactivated her cloak before moving to check on them. "They're still breathing. We're done here, let's move on."

Garrus and Kaidan moved up from cover to join her and they moved on, penetrating deeper into the colony. They’d found a highly effective tactic to deploy the few gas grenades they had where they’d be the most useful, so they continued using it. Garrus and Kaidan would draw fire, letting Shepard move in under cloak to trigger a cloud of gas for maximum effect. Once they ran into more of the Thorian husks, the fire team simply fell back to draw them safely away from the colonists before burning them up with incendiaries. The divide and conquer tactic prevented any collateral damage and by the time they made it to the centre of the colony, the only colonist left was Fai Dan.

“I tried to fight it,” he stammered, struggling against the pain that resisting the mental compulsions provoked, “But it gets in your head. You can’t imagine the pain. I was supposed to be their leader. These people trusted me.”

Shepard stared at Fai Dan, backing away slowly.

The colonist continued forward, gesturing with his pistol. “It wants me to stop you... but I won’t.”

Shepard was about to toss down their last gas grenade but before she could, Fai Dan  raised his pistol, not to her, but to his own head. A shot rang out and Fai Dan collapsed, his final act one of his own choosing, not the Thorian’s. Shepard shook her head as she bent and closed his eyes, placing his hands on his chest. “At least you went out on your terms, old man,” she said sadly. “Not everyone here was that lucky.” Standing, she looked to the other two, her face resolute and her tone unyielding. “This ends today. This fucking thing doesn’t get one more warm body; not one.”

\-------------------------------

Shepard got on the comm. "Normandy, the colony is secure. You can stand down. Pressly, dispatch Williams with bravo squad to the colony ASAP, make sure they load out with incendiaries."

Pressly’s crisp voice responded, "Aye aye, ma'am. Lockdown is releasing now, Williams will be there in five."

As soon as bravo squad arrived the whole group descended down into the tunnels under Zhu's Hope. The air got warmer and more humid the farther they descended, to the point where it started to feel claustrophobic. They could feel _something_ watching them from a dozen sets of eyes in a dozen different places and the level of banter between the crewmates dropped to almost nothing the deeper they went. Even Wrex stopped grumbling about having to leave Tali alone in the medbay and despite the uneasy awkwardness that hung in the air between her and Ash, Shepard still felt better with the Chief at her side. The team finally reached the bottom of the stairwell, and Shepard, scouting ahead on point, stopped dead in her tracks. Her gaze was drawn upwards, to something truly vast and she gave an irritated sigh. "Nothing’s ever simple, is it?"

Garrus looked up and coughed, "I think we're going to need bigger guns." The Thorian occupied a central chamber, which rose though the many stories of the stairs the team just descended. It was positively huge.

Kaidan asked, "How the hell are we even supposed to kill that?"

Ash looked around at the team and gave a shrug, as if fighting gigantic, sentient plants was normal. "Okay, anyone bring the industrial strength weed killer?" The humour was strained though, and she unconsciously took a step closer to Shepard, feeling like she could draw strength just by being closer to the commander.

A pod-like section attached to the Thorian started a convulsive, heaving motion, and the team backed away in alarm. Suddenly, the plant spawned a being that looked a lot like an Asari.

"Shiala?" came Liara's shocked question.

Shepard snapped her head around to look at Liara. "You know her, doctor?"

"This looks like Shiala, one of my mother’s acolytes.”

 “Liara, I don’t think that’s really an Asari, my guess is it’s a proxy, like the ones we fought outside the colony. Only this one seems far more complex.” said Kaidan.

“Of course, you are surely right, lieutenant. Asari skin tone may vary widely, but it never strays into shades of green. Still, the resemblance to Shiala is quite remarkable.”

Then the Shiala-thing decided to speak. “Invaders! Your every step is a transgression. A thousand feelers appraise you as _meat,_  fit only to dig or to decompose. I speak for the Old Growth, as I did for Saren. You stand within and before the Thorian. It commands that you be in awe! Saren sought knowledge of those who are gone. The Old Growth listened to flesh for the first time in the Long Cycle. Trades were made.”

Shepard grimaced and stepped back, feeling the same unconscious need Ashley had. “Well that’s us good and fucked then,” she muttered under her breath to the Chief. “Saren doesn’t exactly have a stellar track record when it comes to keeping his word.” Stepping forward again, she looked past the Asari styled proxy and addressed the Thorian itself. “My name is Commander Shepard. Saren is a traitor to his own people. He seeks to bring about the return of the Reapers. If you are truly as old as it is believed, then you must have a memory of them. If they return, they will sweep the galaxy clean of all life, there will be no... flesh, no _meat_ left to serve you. I must ask you to share with me the same knowledge that Saren took. Without it, I have no hope of stopping him.”

 _“_ Never! After Saren departed, his Cold Ones came and sought the destruction of the Old Growth. They began killing the flesh meant to tend the next cycle. Flesh fairly given! Falsehood and betrayal!”

Shepard sighed. “Well, that proves it’s our Saren, at least.”

“The Old Growth sees the air you push as lies! There will be no more trades with flesh! No more will the Old Growth listen to those that scurry and nibble and betray. Your lives may be short, but they have already gone on too long. Your flesh will feed the ground and the new growth!”

With that, the Shiala-thing made a commanding gesture and ignited with blue light. A telekinetic bolt flew out, hurling Shepard backward against a stone column... then more of those organic husk like things flooded onto the portico from both sides. “Looks like negotiations are over,” Garrus muttered dryly, and taking command of the situation, he raised his Tsunami to his shoulder and yelled out. “Light ‘em up!” Automatic rifle fire lit up the dark corridors and landings as he lay down a barrage of inferno rounds on the plant husks coming in from their left, whilst Wrex did the same for their right flank, a shockwave knocking many of the husks off of the portico to fall into the chasm below the Thorian before his Eviscerator boomed and thundered, spraying long streams of burning shot into the remaining plant men. Kaidan and Liara instantly combined their talents, the Alliance lieutenant dragging the green asari into the air with a Lift before Liara hit the facsimile of her mother’s acolyte with a Push, launching the proxy out over the abyss, to tumble into the darkness. Ashley strafed their left flank with fire from her Crossfire, adding to Garrus’ enfilade as she moved towards where Shepard lay stunned.

The awkwardness between them was completely forgotten in the moment; she only wanted to make sure Shepard was safe and uninjured. If that plant thing had hurt her, Ash was going to make sure it paid for every scratch and bump. Closing on Shepard, she saw one of the plant husks almost on top of the stunned Shepard and she gave a bellow of rage, ripping into it with a volley of gunfire. Then she was crouching over Shepard, hauling the dead husk out of the way and pulling the commander to her feet. Shepard grunted a "Thanks!" as she shook her head, shaking off the last effects of her high speed collision with the stone column. She could see the concern in Ashley’s eyes, even through the thick plexiglass of her visor and Erisa gripped her hand for a brief second, squeezing it to assure Ash she was fine. As soon as Ashley saw the commander smile _her_ smile, she knew Shepard was okay and turned back to the battle, her best friend at her side. Once Kaidan and Liara had taken the Shiala proxy out of the picture, the husks seemed less organized and much easier to kill.

Ashley cried out, "Hey, Shepard! Check this out... it looks like an anchor for one of the main support vines on that thing. What do you think?"

Shepard looked at it, looked back at Ashley and flashed her a wicked smile, her dark eyes sparkling. "Only one way to find out..." They both started firing together, Crossfire and Tempest spitting fiery death into the air. The node shuddered beneath the impacts, and once it started burning, it exploded. The end of the vine went whipping through the air and the Thorian seemed to convulse in pain before it shrieked, the sound more in their heads than in the air itself. Shepard keyed her mic on squad wide. "We’ve found a weakness! Wrex, Garrus, you’re on husk duty, keep those fucking things off of us, LT, you and the doc focus on the proxy. Take it down fast to keep its troops off balance. Chief, it’s you and me girl, let’s go hunt down more of these nodes.”

The same sequence of events repeated itself over and over and their own battle tactics countered every push towards them that the Thorian made. The Thorian birthed a new Asari proxy and droves of organic husks ran to assist. The separate pairings followed their orders to the letter; Kaidan and Liara first nullified then dispatched the Shiala-proxy, Wrex and Garrus burnt out the organic husks with constant, precise fire and Ashley and Shepard worked their way to the next wall anchor and destroyed it. Despite its age, or perhaps because of it, the Thorian clearly had no concept of how to adapt quickly and couldn’t stop the constant advance of the Normandy fire team. Continually working upwards, the crew finally destroyed one node too many and the Thorian became too heavy to support itself on the few vines that remained. It sheared from the walls and fell, crashing downward, to the bottom of the well they had ascended over the last hour of constant fighting. Shepard stood on the edge of the chasm, looking down into the deepening gloom and ejected her Tempest’s last thermal clip out over the edge before stowing it on the hardpoint at her waist. "Well, shit. Now what?”

She slowly turned and started walking away when Garrus’ keen sniper’s eye caught something and he pointed to a spot along the wall. "What the hell is that?"

A series of oblong pods were stuck to the wall, and while most were hanging limply, one was rippling with motion, eventually tearing open and dumping its content onto the floor. It looked like another Shiala proxy but something was off... the skin! Shepard made the connection at roughly the same time as Liara; this Shiala’s skin was a bluish purple rather than the dark green they’d seen on the proxies. Liara gasped and ran to her childhood friend, tearing at the tendrils and remains of the sack that had imprisoned her. Shiala seemed in a daze, slowly taking in what was happening around her, and she finally locked onto the face of the person who was helping her.

"Liara?" Shiala was very confused, and had difficulty standing. Liara wrapped Shiala in her arms and held her tight, until Shiala found her balance and seemed able to stand on her own. As Liara released her, Shiala looked around and said "Thank you, all of you. Thank you for my freedom." Shepard, despite Liara’s proximity and apparent friendship with the newly freed asari; looked to Garrus and Ash then nodded. Both soldiers brought up their rifles with crisp precision and trained them on Shiala. Liara’s face registered first shock and then betrayal, but Shiala had the good sense to raise her hands and Shepard gave the young archaeologist an apologetic look. “I’m sorry doctor, but we have no idea how long your friend has been here and we can’t confirm that the fall killed the Thorian. We can’t risk the chance she turns on us. Besides,” Shepard said with a little more winter in her voice, “you identified her as one of your mother’s acolytes yourself and the Thorian said Saren offered up ‘flesh’ in trade for old knowledge. Logic says Shiala was a part of that deal.” She shifted her gaze to their prisoner. “That sound about right, Shiala?”

The asari nodded, her hands still raised. “The commander is most astute. She’s correct, Liara, but if I may be allowed to speak?” Shepard nodded.

“By all means, we came looking for answers and so far, you’re all we’ve found. So you better have something for us.” So began Shiala’s long tale of her service to the Matriarch, ending up allied to Saren, and eventually sacrificed to the Thorian when Saren needed her to communicate with the Thorian. He bartered her life away for access to something he called the Cipher.

Shepard stopped her there. "I thought Saren was after something called the Conduit? What does a cipher have to do with it?"

Shiala explained, "The beacon on Eden Prime gave you visions... but the visions are confusing and unclear.”

Shepard merely nodded her confirmation.

“Saren could not understand them either, until he came here. The visions were meant for a Prothean mind. To truly comprehend them, you must be capable of thinking like a Prothean. You must understand their language, their culture, their history, everything that made them distinctive and unique. The Thorian had that knowledge. When the Protheans lived on Feros, it watched and studied them. It made some of them its thralls, just as it made me and the humans above its thralls. When they died, it consumed them. They became a part of it. That knowledge is the Cipher.”

“So if Saren could learn to think like a Prothean, he would be able to understand the vision.”

“That is correct,” said Shiala. “The Cipher gave him the ability to fathom the vision in its entirety. It was not enough to find the Conduit, but it was an enormous step forward. Saren is very close to attaining his goals.”

“That means I’ll need the Cipher too. But with the Thorian gone that’s going to be... problematic, at best.”

“I’ll say,” whispered Garrus, to no one in particular.

Shiala smiled. “There is a way. I retain the knowledge from my own melding with the Thorian. If I were to join my mind with yours...”

Ashley stiffened noticeably at the offer of joining, her muscles tensing, and Shepard leant over, putting her hand lightly on the top of Ash’s Crossfire and easing the barrel away from Shiala. She spoke in a gentle tone, whispered really, “Easy Ash. Let’s ease up that grip a little huh? We don’t need any accidental discharges just now.” Erisa looked at Ash and met her gaze. She could see the concern in there again, along with a green streak a mile wide, reflected in those brown pools. _We’re going to have to talk about that, and soon_. Instead, she did her best to reassure the brunette, filling her own dark eyes with confidence and a solid measure how much she cared for Ash too.

Seeing the look Erisa gave her, Ash took a deep breath and forced herself to relax, easing her finger off the trigger as Shepard lowered the barrel of her rifle. She couldn’t help it, any time the topic of an asari melding with Shepard came up, she felt an irrationally strong surge of jealousy and protectiveness. She still felt responsible for the visions in Shepard’s head, she’d been the one to trigger the beacon only to have Erisa rescue her and take her place. And the idea of someone else melding with her... of someone that wasn’t her knowing Shepard’s memories and emotions, well, it made her _crazy_ jealous. _Hmm, guess I’m not as confused about my feelings as I thought._ Stepping back, she straightened and lowered her Crossfire into a relaxed posture. “I’ll ahh... I’ll walk the perimeter ma’am. Make sure our route back topside is secure.”

Shepard nodded, breathing a slow sigh of relief. “Good idea, Chief. Take Wrex if you need the company.” He’d at least noticed them ‘making eyes at one another’ as he’d put it. Maybe if Ash needed to talk to someone, she’d consider the big krogan. “Aye ma’am.”

Shiala had always been very sensitive to the moods of others, but Ashley’s reaction to the suggestion had been plain enough for everyone to notice; they just seemed to be ignoring it. Shiala lowered her voice, so that no one but Shepard would hear her. “Commander, I am sorry to ask, but are you involved with the other human woman?”

Shepard’s jaw muscles clenched and she grunted, but realised if she was going to join with this Asari to receive the Cipher, then Shiala would find out anyway. “That’s... complicated. Let’s just say there might be something there, but our positions don’t exactly leave us many options.”

The Asari realised she meant military ranks and nodded. “I see. Your... ‘friend’ seemed less than happy at the prospect of a joining between us. If there were any other way I would suggest it instead, but I am afraid a joining is the only possible way to gift you with the Cipher.”

Erisa nodded, the faintest hint of concern breaking through her well disciplined mask of command. “Just get on with it, Shiala. I’ll just have to deal with any fallout. The Chief knows we need this for the mission.” At least, she hoped Ash did. She sighed internally and felt a throbbing start at the back of her head. _This_ is why there were regs against fraternizing. You can’t risk jeopardising your mission, or your op, or your ship because you’re worried about someone else’s feelings. Shaking her head, she forced any thoughts of Ashley Williams out of her mind and took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s do this.”

Receiving the Cipher was almost as taxing as getting hit by the beacon, minus the explosion. The images in Erisa’s head were floating in and out of focus, as if someone was messing with a zoom lens, and she was having a hard time holding on to any particular train of thought. When she and Shiala separated, Erisa was down on her knees, shaking and sweating like she had been hit with a fever and she could taste metal again. She stood up, weakly, and shook her head. The crew looked on, concern etched in their faces, and Erisa was glad Ash hadn’t been here to see this. Kaidan gave voice to the question they were all thinking. “Commander, are you alright?"

"Yeah, my head just needs time to... assimilate it all, translate it into something I can understand. I'll be fine. We need to get out of here and back to the Normandy. I feel like I could sleep for a week." They all retreated from the Thorian pit, and after brief discussions with the colonists, were soon on their way. Lizbeth Baynham and Shiala were going to wait at Zhu’s Hope for whichever Alliance vessel arrived to secure them for transport to the Citadel. It wasn’t an ideal situation, and ideally they should have been taken into custody aboard the Normandy, but Shepard couldn’t risk having Shiala on the same ship as mission critical intelligence, just in case her apparent repentance was feigned and she was still an agent of Benezia’s. Lizbeth Baynham on the other hand was probably safer where she was. On Feros, she was out of harm’s way from ExoGeni. Depositing her with C-Sec on the Citadel until the Spectre office could launch its investigation would only put her in arm’s reach for any enterprising corporate assassin. ExoGeni was not going to take being charged with contravening a half dozen conventions and treaties lightly. On the way back to the ship Shepard could feel her headache growing with every step, but she did what she had to to survive, it was instinct by now, and that meant by the time they reached the Normandy she’d locked down her emotions and retreated behind her walls. The Ice Queen was back.

Walking beside the commander, Ash could see, and feel, it happening. She liked to think she knew Erisa well enough by now to recognise the signs. It was in a half dozen small things that weren’t readily apparent, not to anyone who only knew her as the Ice Queen of the Normandy. It took knowing the woman behind the mask to see the signs. It was the way the fire in her dark eyes dimmed to almost nothing, the almost imperceptible tensing in her shoulders; as if adjusting to the weight of another suit of armour. Her fierce voice lost its life, it deadened and instead of feeling a bite behind the cold tone there was the emptiness of the arctic. And try as she might whilst they walked the corridors back to the docks; nothing she did could bring Shepard out of it. Not a smile, a grin, a gentle touch when no one was looking... nothing. It was the first time ever she hadn’t been able to cheer Erisa up and it made her feel like crying. That in itself began to turn her frustration into anger; she was a Williams damn it, and Williams’ women didn’t cry!

As soon as the decontamination protocol finished and the airlock opened onto the ship, Shepard contacted the bridge, her voice flat and chill. "Moreau, point us at the Citadel, best speed." With that, the commander simply turned and walked towards her quarters. Ashley watched her go and suddenly felt very alone. She knew something was very wrong with Shepard, but she had no idea what and only one idea of who to turn to.


	11. Three Minds become One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PTSD = Post Traumatic Stress Disorder  
> CMO = Chief Medical Officer

Worried about the commander, Ashley hurried to the armoury to turn in her weapons before she hit the lockers and got out of her hard suit and back into uniform. After that she wasted no time in getting to the med bay. The only other person on board the Normandy who would know Shepard better than she did was Karin Chakwas. If anyone could get through to the commander, it would be her. Karin was somewhat surprised by Ashley’s sudden and unscheduled visit to the medical bay, and she quirked an eyebrow in curiosity as the young marine approached her. Something was clearly bothering her, Karin could see the tension etched into Ashley’s features and the way her hands wouldn’t stop fidgeting nervously. "Chief Williams, it’s unusual to see you here. Is there anything I can help you with? You seem, well, a little distressed to be honest." Karin stood and moved to her side, her practiced medical eye detecting nothing obviously amiss physically.

"Uh yeah, hey Doc... I’m fine, really. It’s just...” she paused, peeking over Chakwas’ shoulder and down the length of the med bay. Tali was still there, but she appeared to be sleeping peacefully in the far bed. “Is there someplace quiet we can talk?” she asked quietly, “I don’t want to disturb Tali.” Karin looked back to where her quarian patient was resting and nodded; though she was fairly sure Ash’s request was more about privacy than waking up the little machinist. “I was just about to make some tea. We could talk in my office if you like.” Ash nodded, not trusting herself to speak quite yet. Once they were safely in the small room that served as Karin’s office though, she started to talk rapidly; trying to get her thoughts out without garbling them too badly. She really had no idea what was wrong with Shepard, it mightn’t be anything at all, but she was worried about her commander’s withdrawal back into her emotional shell and as much as she knew it really wasn’t her business, she felt she had to say something. “Look, I’m probably way out of line here, but... well, I think something’s wrong with the commander.”

Dr Chakwas fixed her with a concerned gaze. “And why do you think that, my dear?"

Growing more and more unsure, Ashley had to steel herself and push aside her doubts. Even if she wasn’t worried for Erisa on a purely personal basis, it was her duty to report anything that might be affecting her CO to the ship’s doctor. “I don’t know Doc, I’m not sure how to explain it. It’s almost as if she’s... retreating maybe? Disappearing back behind her walls. It’s like she’s shutting down and I can’t reach her through them.” Ash felt herself flush a little, though not noticeably, and for a moment she feared she’d given too much away about exactly how close she and Erisa had been getting. “You know her best, Doctor. I thought maybe if you talked to her...” she left the sentence hanging unfinished in the air, like a pregnant cloud.

"...I might be able to pull her out of her shell again?” Karin finished, her shoulders dropping slightly with a sigh. “I’m afraid not, Ashley. Shepard’s built those walls of hers to be almost impenetrable; they’re made to keep out decades of emotional trauma.” A sad, defeated look briefly passed over the older woman’s stern features. “I’ve never been able to do much for her emotional wounds, not even counselling for her PTSD after Akuze made much of a dent. Shepard buries her problems instead of talking them through, then often unleashes all that pent up emotion on her enemies.” The doctor gave Ash a long, hard look that said more than her words did. “I’m afraid if there really is something bothering her, I think there’s only one person on this ship who can get her to drop her walls long enough to find out what’s wrong.”

Ash looked confused a moment, and when she realised what Karin meant, she turned red and flustered, almost stammering as she spoke. “What, me? Why do you think, I mean why could I...” Chakwas held up her hand to quiet Ash, a sympathetic smile on her lips, even if her eyes were quietly laughing. “You two really are a pair.... Did you honestly think I hadn’t noticed the way you two look at one another? I’ve known the commander since she was sixteen, Chief. I know what to look for, with her at least, and to me it’s painfully obvious just how much she cares for you. I won’t presume to speculate on your own feelings, my dear, but if you’ll allow an old woman to make an observation or two... ever since she lost the 323rd Erisa has hidden behind her Ice Queen persona, to protect herself from that pain and loss. You are the first person I’ve seen in six years that has ever been allowed inside those walls of hers. Like it or not, Ashley, you’re good for her." Karin smiled, "ever since you came aboard she’s been more _human_ than she has been in a long time. If anyone stands a chance at breaking through to her; it’s you."

Ash was mortified, her eyes widening with shock and she was at a loss for words. She really thought she’d been so careful, trying her hardest to act professional whenever she and Shepard weren’t alone. Apparently she hadn’t been as careful as she’d thought. Karin smiled warmly at her, doing her best not to smirk. “You really are terrible at this, aren’t you? Don’t worry about it too much, Ashley. Her reputation as the ‘Ice Queen’ has kept most of the general crew at arm’s length; I doubt they’ve noticed anything. She does have somewhat of an intimidating presence about her. I can’t speak as to the rest of your fellow squad mates however. If any of them have noticed something, no one has made mention of it yet.” She paused and sat down, offering a chair to the Chief as she made tea for the two of them. Ashley dropped into the proffered seat unceremoniously, more than a little stunned by the embarrassment. Mention of her squad mates made her suddenly groan and she dropped her face into her hands, sighing loudly with a huff. “Oh God... the squad.”

One of Karin’s fine brows peaked and she waited for the chief to continue. “They were all there when... well, oh damn it!” She looked Karin straight in the eye, not quite believing the direction their conversation had turned in. “Shiala, the asari we rescued beneath Zhu’s Hope, well, she offered to meld with Shepard, to give her the Cipher and the idea just made me so _jealous_ I almost shot her. Shepard had to talk me down like I was some jittery cadet and the whole squad was there to see it.” She sat bolt upright and shook her head. “I’m going to have to transfer off the ship aren’t I? How can I keep working with them if they all think I’ve got some kind of crush on the commander? It’s completely unprofessional!”

Karin watched Ash’s outburst in silence then spoke softly, "I wouldn’t worry about their feelings on the matter just yet Ashley. I think the real question, the one you’re avoiding asking yourself, is what do _you_ feel about her?”

Ashley gave another soft groan, almost a whimper really, before she admitted “To be honest, doc, I don’t know what I think.”

Karin reached out and gently patted Ashley’s knee. “That wasn’t what I asked you though, my dear. I don’t want to know what you think; I want to know what you _feel._ Sometimes we all overanalyze things happening in our lives. I have found that in the moments of greatest confusion it is better to acknowledge one’s emotions than try to understand them. You mentioned feeling jealous. Why don’t you start with that?” Noticing Ash’s hesitation, she gave the chief a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry Ashley, you have my utmost confidentiality. This conversation shall never leave the confines of my office; it’s just you and me talking here, no judgements."

Ash sighed and nodded slowly, perhaps it was time she unburdened herself, maybe the doc was right and talking about how confusing her emotions were would help her get a handle on them. “How do I feel about her? Exhilarated, confused... scared. I’m straight, doc! Or at least I thought I was until I met her...  it’s like everything I thought I knew about myself has been turned on its head ever since the Citadel.” Karin nodded, giving Ashley a gentle nudge when she’d fallen silent for too long. “And what happened on the Citadel, to change things?”

Ashley’s distress almost seemed to melt away, being replaced by what looked like a sense of peace, and Karin knew that Ashley was recalling something that was special to her; a moment or a memory of Shepard. The gunnery chief was almost relaxed when she spoke again, unable to keep a gentle smile off of her face. “Poetry. It was just after the last audience with the Council, when she’d just been made a Spectre. We were standing there under the skylight, looking out onto the Serpent Nebula when she recited an old piece of poetry. The way she described the nebula, the way she saw it as something beautiful created by forces that were so cold and faceless. It made me realise that there was far more to her than just the stories about Akuze.” Ash’s smile slipped away and she looked Karin in the eye. “She can be almost terrifying at times, so cold and hard it’s as if she really is made of ice. I’ve seen her do terrible things, kill men she should have taken prisoner, intimidated civil servants that were just doing their jobs... she even tortured a man back on the Citadel when we were hunting for evidence on Saren. She flat out tortured him then just let Wrex kill him in cold blood! But...” she paused, trying to find the right words. “But then she looks at me with those huge dark eyes and she smiles _that_ smile, the smile that I swear she keeps just for me, and I don’t care about the rest of it. Under all that pain and loss there’s a wonderful, beautiful, caring person with a poet’s soul. And I don’t know why, but she cares about me. She’s pulled down all those walls and shown me parts of herself, parts of her past that I don’t think she ever shared with anyone; at least not in a long time. She’s given me her trust and that scares me, doc. I don’t know what I did to deserve it and that frightens me.”

Karin smiled gently as she listened. She knew what was coming, even if Ashley didn’t, and she’d just have to guide the poor chief through her confusion until she saw it for herself. “Anything else, anything more... physical?”

Ash blushed a little, remembering that forbidden kiss and just what being that close to Shepard had made her feel, physically. Lust. Big time, knock your socks off lust. But there was no need to mention that fact to the doc; that was something she wanted to keep private, along with her spikes of jealousy at the thought of anyone else touching Erisa.

“Uhm, no... I think that about covers it.” She wasn’t a very good liar and the deception was obvious, but Karin just smiled and let it go. She’d seen Ash’s cheeks flush and her pupils dilate at the mention of Shepard. She knew for a fact what Shepard’s feelings towards Ashley were and it seemed they were reciprocated by the chief, even if Ash couldn’t, or didn’t want to, admit it to herself yet. “I think you two ought to have a serious talk, my dear, and soon.” She saw the chief tense up a little, but Karin chuckled. “Oh don’t worry, my dear. I’m not going to quote regulations at you. I may be an Alliance officer but I’ve stood by Commander Shepard’s side after some of the worst moments of her life. I’d like to think I’m her friend first and foremost. Whatever there may or may not be between the pair of you, it is something for the two of you to decide, damn the rules. She’s had little enough happiness in her life. If that’s something that maybe you can bring her, if you think you want to, then the both of you will have my full support.”

Not quite knowing what to say to that, Ashley just nodded dumbly. Chakwas was right; she and Shepard would have to stop dancing around their obvious attraction and confront it. They were Alliance marines, not schoolgirls. They’d have to find a way to deal with it and square it away; the more they let it interfere with the mission, the more they put the galaxy at risk.

Karin stood and straightened her tunic. “Now, Chief Williams, I suggest you go and have a talk with our commander. If, as you suspect, something is bothering her then get her to talk. I’m afraid she has a bad habit of trying to keep me from worrying about her. I doubt I’ll be of much use just yet, but let me know the minute you discover anything. Just because I may be willing to overlook _some_ regulations doesn’t mean I’m going to let her endanger herself or her crew.”

Ashley stood and gave Karin a smile as she saluted. “Aye ma’am.”

\-------------------------------

Erisa slammed her palm against the panel that opened the door to her room and stalked in on heavy feet. She was tired, bone tired and she felt like she was trying to walk through treacle. Her head felt like it was ready to explode, and over she just plain felt gross, still sweating and shaking from the meld with Shiala that had given her the Cipher. She knew she should go to medical and get herself checked, but she just didn’t have the energy for it. Dr Chakwas, Karin, would just fret and scold her and Tali was still in the medbay resting, which meant Wrex was probably back there by now too. That was entirely too many people to deal with in her current mood so she’d just stay here. Dumping her weapons on her desk, she walked through to her bunk and sat down with a groan of exhaustion. Stripping off her Mercenary hard suit, followed by her pressure suit, she dumped them in the corner and stepped into the tiny shower that was one of the luxuries her command position afforded her. As the small cubicle filled with steam she stepped under the heavy spray and gave a small sigh of relief, feeling the grime and grit of Feros being washed away. She was tired, so very tired now, with a headache that wouldn’t quit. She closed her eyes, willing it to go away; but it only got worse and everything slowly faded to black.

Standing outside the door to the Captain’s quarters, Ash took a deep breath and brushed her fingers over the panel to announce her presence then patiently waited. Five, ten then fifteen seconds passed without a response and she frowned. Maybe Shepard was already sleeping? She shook her head and touched the panel again. This was too important to walk away from. If she was right and something was wrong with the woman she regarded as her best friend, then she needed to do everything she could to help. Her awkwardness over their flirting and the spontaneous kiss they’d shared had faded almost completely, replaced with both immediate concern and a dawning acceptance that it had happened and was something best confronted, not run from. Another thirty seconds passed and with still no answer, Ash decided to risk entering Shepard’s cabin without waiting for confirmation. Tapping the button to open the door, she summoned her courage and walked in.

There was no immediate sign of the commander, though her Viper and Tempest, along with the harness that held her barrier packs, medigel and grenades had been unceremoniously dumped on the small workstation that helped to delineate the first section of the Captain’s quarters as a ready room from the more private rear sleeping section. “Hello?” she called out softly. “Shepard?” There was no reply and so she moved further into the two rooms, stepping around the desk and into the bedroom section. The commander’s hard suit and the pressure suit that went beneath it, both lay in the corner of the room, tossed aside rather carelessly. Combined with the lax weapon discipline she’d just walked past, it only began to confirm Ash’s fears. Just like her, Shepard was a consummate professional when it came to their chosen occupation as marines. There was no way she would have treated the tools of her trade with such disregard unless there was something very wrong. The room was starting to fill with steam from the small shower at the back of the cabin and Ashley called out again. “Are you in there, Shepard? It’s Ashley. We ah, I thought we could talk.”

Still no reply and Ash was starting to get seriously worried now. Throwing caution, and possibly Erisa’s modesty, to the wind, Ash stepped around the bed and looked into the shower, only to feel fear’s icy fingers suddenly grip her heart and squeeze; Shepard was unconscious on the shower floor, a cut on her forehead adding a steady stream of red to the whirling water as it circled the drain. “No no no no no....” Ash heard herself repeating as she quickly shut off the water. The moment of panic passed in a fleeting second as her military discipline and training instinctively kicked in and she stepped into the cubicle, pressing two fingers to the side of Erisa’s throat. Good, her pulse was strong at least. Throwing a towel over Erisa to keep her warm, she pressed a rolled up facecloth to the cut on her head to stem the bleeding and opened an emergency channel to med bay. “Williams to Chakwas, medical emergency in the Captain’s quarters! Hurry!”

Thirty seconds later she heard the door to the Captain’s quarters slide open and she called out. “Back here, doc!” Chakwas hurried into the rear section of the cabin, carrying a medkit and Ashley stepped out of the shower to give Karin room to work while she filled the doctor in. “I came in and found her back here like this. She must have slipped in the shower or something.” Karin nodded and ran a preliminary scan over the commander with her medical omnitool. “No spinal damage, we can move her. Give me a hand Chief, we’ll get her onto the bed and I’ll examine her further.” Ash moved in to help, supporting Shepard’s legs as the doctor lifted her body with surprising ease for an older woman, and together they carried her to the bed. Laying her down, Chakwas ran another scan then applied medigel to the cut above Shepard’s brow and bandaged it roughly before she threw a medical gown to Ashley. “We’ll need to get her to the medbay, you better dress her in that, we can’t have the entire crew gaping at her as we head through the mess.” Ash nodded as she lifted Shepard’s prone form and wrangled her into the hospital gown, the thought of having to carry her through the ship’s crew deck to the medbay giving her an idea and she tapped her omnitool. “Joker, sound a call to stations. I want the mess hall’s deck cleared of all personnel.” She threw a quick, inquiring look to Karin, who nodded back her approval. “That’s an order from the CMO.”

Joker’s voice came back over the comm. channel. “Aye aye Chief. Sounding station check now.” She was thankful he hadn’t been openly curious and had simply followed orders for once. A klaxon sounded throughout the ship and by the time they were ready to move Shepard, the decks had been squared away. Ashley carried Shepard through to the medbay in her arms and as they came in through the door, Tali and Wrex looked up from the conversation to the commotion. Their faces registered immediate concern, but as Ashley gently lay the commander down on the first exam table, Karin was already barking orders as she moved to grab more advanced diagnostic equipment. “Wrex, out! I’m afraid visiting hours are over for the night.” The big krogan didn’t argue as Ash thought he might have, but nodded and gave Tali’s arm one last squeeze and a nod as he left the medbay. He didn’t go far though, taking up position outside the doors to deter any crewmen who got too curious.

Ash had to stand back and let the doctor work, and as helpless as that always made her feel, she knew Erisa was in good hands. Karin talked out loud as she examined the unconscious commander; partly for Ash’s benefit but mostly so the medbay’s audio systems would record her initial findings. “Patient is Lieutenant Commander Erisa Shepard. Found unconscious in the shower. I’m not reading any signs of skeletal or muscular damage other than minor contusions forming on her knees and upper left arm. Most likely from her fall. There is one... 2 inch laceration above her right brow, likely sustained during the fall. Wound has already been treated with medigel and dressed. Pupillary response is... sluggish. Possible signs of a concussion forming.” With a swift, practiced hand, Chakwas placed several electrodes at precise points on Shepard’s forehead before moving to a holodisplay and activating a brain scan to determine the severity of the concussion. What she found instead stunned her into silence. Her reaction had Ashley worried, another spike of fear lancing into her heart, and she watched with trepidation as Karin tried to make sense of what she was seeing. “This is... unusual, it’s not a concussion. I’m seeing brain activity that’s almost off the charts. Her alpha, beta and delta waves are spiking dangerously high. It’s like her brain has been overwhelmed with electrical activity.” She crossed her arms over her chest as she watched the readings come in, a frown on her face; but then her eyes opened wide and she quickly reached for another datapad. Bringing up the brain scan she’d run on Shepard immediately after the mission on Eden Prime, she compared the two scans and shook her head. “They’re not quite the same, but very similar. Whatever’s happening to the commander closely resembles what took place in her brain after her exposure to the Prothean beacon.” She looked to Ashley and the chief could see the doctor thinking. “What happened down on Feros? You mentioned a ‘meld’ between the commander and an asari, correct?”

Ash nodded. “Yeah, apparently it was the only way to give Shepard something called the Cipher. It’s supposed to be something that will make her think like a Prothean, so she’d understand the beacon’s images better.” Karin became positively waspish after hearing that and she snapped at the Chief. “And none of you thought it might be worth telling me that Shepard volunteered to have yet _more_ alien information downloaded into her brain? I’ve come to expect that kind of behaviour from her, Chief Williams, but I would have thought at least one of the rest of you would have had the sense to inform me, as chief medical officer, of what had taken place.” It didn’t take a genius to see that Chakwas was worried, and that in turn had Ash both concerned and a little frightened. “I’m sorry doc; I guess I wasn’t thinking. What’s.... what’s happening to her?” Karin sighed and dismissed the apology with a shake of her head. “It’s only a theory, but I think this Cipher she received has overwhelmed her neural pathways with more data than her mind can safely process. She’s effectively in neural shock and her body is showing signs of beginning to shut down. If I had to guess I’d say the regions of her brain that control her body’s autonomous systems are slowly being commandeered to process the new information. If this continues she could well die before her mind completes the assimilation of the prothean data.” She looked at Ashley with some consternation. “I’m afraid this is a little out of my wheelhouse, Chief. I’m not sure what to do.”

An idea came to Ash in a flash of inspiration. Had she thought of it at any other time she would have immediately dismissed it, her green streak shooting it down. But now? Now the woman she was beginning to realise she was falling in love with was in danger and it might be her only hope. “What about Dr T’soni?” she blurted out. “One asari gave her the Cipher through a meld, maybe ours can help undo the damage?” Karin considered the idea and nodded quickly. “At the very least she should be able to help us understand what is happening.” That was all Ash needed and she bolted down the length of the medbay to hammer on the door of Liara’s temporary quarters. “Doctor T’soni! Liara! We need your help, quickly!” _Come on doc, answer the damn door,_ she thought to herself, the slightest delay frustrating her. The door slid open soon enough and a tired looking Liara stood there, concern on her face. “What is it Chief?”

Ash grabbed the young asari by the hand and dragged her down to where Shepard lay, letting Karin explain the situation to Liara instead whilst Ash just stood by Shepard. Reaching out, she gently took Erisa’s hand and held it tenderly as the two doctors talked. Right now she didn’t care who saw or what they thought; she only knew that her friend needed help and she’d do anything; allow anything, to see her get it. After a short discussion, Liara turned to look at the prone form of Shepard, with Ashley standing protectively at her side, gently stroking the commander’s hair.  "After hearing what Karin has had to say, I am inclined to agree with her, Chief Williams. Anyone who has ever attempted direct interaction with a beacon has been left either mentally incompetent or worse, dead. Our concern is that with the addition of the cipher, the commander’s mind is now attempting to capture and understand all the data from the beacon... and it may actually be exceeding the limit of her brain's processing power.” Liara gave both of the human women a solemn look. “I think we may have reached the point where our intervention is necessary or we risk losing her to madness, or worse." Liara's voice became soft and entreating. "Please, Ashley, I know you have reservations about Shepard melding with me, but let me help her."

Ashley wondered why the hell Liara was asking her for permission when this was Karin’s call, but a glance down at the tender way she held Erisa’s hand and the hand brushing at her ragged pixie cut hair made it obvious. _Guess the cat’s out of the bag now... damn you Shepard! Why couldn’t you have been awake so we could have talked about all this!_ Ash fixed Liara with a look that both challenged her to make an issue of her claim on Erisa Shepard, but also begged her to help. “You do whatever you need to, Liara. I think I’m just about done denying things. Just you bring her back in one piece, okay?”

Liara sighed in relief, then began to explain her plan to both Karin and Ashley, so they were aware of what she would be doing. "I think if I meld with the commander, a simple exchange meld, then we can combine her knowledge of the cipher and my expertise on the Protheans. That coupled with the processing power of two minds rather than one, should be sufficient to relieve the mental pressure, and allow her body’s autonomous functions to begin working again."

"And you think that will work?" Ash was hesitant, and her concerns were echoed by Karin. "The meld with Shiala has placed considerable stress on the commander, both mentally and physically, Dr T’soni,” Karin said, showing the asari Shepard’s medical chart. “I’m not sure I can allow any procedure that may serve to exacerbate her condition even more..."

Liara looked first at Dr Chakwas and then at Chief Williams, trying to convey a degree of assurance and confidence. "I cannot offer any guarantees Doctor, but I do not believe this will in any way worsen the commander’s condition. The addition of the Cipher added yet more knowledge, more stress to Shepard’s already burdened mind. What I’m proposing is more of a buffering, an attempt to slow the flow of information while her mind assimilates the new data.” She gave both women a look of caution. “I warn you, I cannot say for certain it will work, but I see little choice. There is also another danger, this time to me. Asari are trained from birth for the exchange of knowledge though melding, and how to shield ourselves from unwanted intrusion, a form of mental discipline that is required to protect ourselves. Shepard has not had that training. There may be a risk that I see things she would rather I did not."

Ashley didn’t like the sound of that at all, not only did Shepard’s mind possess classified military data that Liara was by no means cleared for, it also meant she may see or hear things that neither Ash or Erisa wanted her to, things that were far too... personal. It also occurred to Ash that compared to Shepard, Liara was an innocent. Who knew how the young asari would react if she stumbled across the commander’s more traumatic experiences? Still, what was the alternative? Let the Cipher and the beacon drive Shepard mad? Or worse, let them erase any trace of who Shepard was, leaving only a husk that thought like a prothean; useful only for knowledge? The risks inherent in combining the Cipher with the beacon must be why Saren ensured he had someone like Benezia on his side, to do for him what Liara proposed to do for Shepard. Karin was the first to speak.

“It’s dangerous and high risk, but I’m afraid I don’t see any alternative. As CMO I’m going to authorise the procedure.” She paused and put a hand on Liara’s shoulder, a motherly look on her face. “but as a friend to both of you, I’m going to tell you to be careful.” Liara nodded, but Karin didn’t relent. “I mean it, Liara. You have no idea of the horrors Commander Shepard has endured in her short life. You may not like much of what you see.” That shook the Asari’s confidence a little, but she soon rallied. “I understand Doctor, I will be careful.” Stepping over to where Shepard lay, she took one of the commander’s hands as Ashley reluctantly let the other go, and Liara initiated the meld.

Nothing happened. After a short while Liara opened her  eyes and looked at Shepard in astonishment. “Goddess,” she breathed, “I’ve never seen mental barriers that strong!” She looked at the two women apologetically. “I’m sorry Doctor, Chief Williams. She wouldn’t let me in. Every time I tried to initiate contact it was like trying to walk through solid rock. As soon as I approached her mind it felt like immense walls were suddenly in the way. Where on earth did she receive that kind of training?” Karin frowned. “I was afraid that might happen... to answer your question Liara, she hasn’t had any kind of training at all. Shepard learnt to build those walls on her own, out of necessity.” Amazement, followed by a more disconcerted look passed across Liara’s face and Ashley couldn’t help but smirk ever so slightly. Maybe the famed asari weren’t all they were made up to be. “She may only be a fraction of your age, Doctor,” Karin continued, “but she has been witness to some truly horrific things in her life, and survived them nonetheless. Those walls of hers were built to keep out an immense amount of pain and loss.”

Liara could only nod. “I think I understand doctor, and I’m quite certain I don’t want to know what those things might be. I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can help.” That wasn’t going to fly, not for Ashley, and she looked up from Erisa’s troubled face to stare at Liara with steely determination.

“I can get you in.”

Liara looked non-plussed, but Karin gave a soft smile. “She’s right. Liara, is it possible for you to act as a bridge of sorts? Could you meld with both the commander _and_ the chief?” The young archaeologist thought about the strange request, but nodded, albeit a little apprehensively. “In theory, yes. It is possible, though it would be extremely taxing. I’ve only ever heard of such a... bridging being done by Matriarchs. It could be extremely dangerous, for all involved. Why do you ask?”

Karin gestured to the exam table beside Shepard, but Ashley was already one step ahead of her, climbing onto it and settling down then reaching across to hold Erisa’s hand again. “If there is one person here that Shepard will let through those barriers, it’s the chief. If you can act as a bridge, then Ashley can get you in. Once past those walls you can do whatever it is you need to.” Liara caught on to the idea fast and nodded appreciatively. “If that is so, then there may be another task Chief Williams could perform to help me.”

Ash nodded without thinking. “Anything doc, just tell me what you need?”

“It is likely the commander’s conscious self will have retreated to where she feels safest, in an attempt to hold her mental self and her memories together through the storm of activity in her brain. Find her and help her. You will be the lifeline to which she clings while I do what I can to help.” Ash nodded again. “I can do that.”

“Good,” said Liara, “then let us try again.” Moving to stand between the two exam beds, the asari reached and touched their clasped hands with one of her own; black, white and blue all joined together.

It was a bizarre sensation, feeling Liara in her mind, but she did her best to adjust. They needed each other’s help to get to Erisa, and that was enough motivation for Ash to forget all the times she’d felt jealous of the way Liara had looked at Shepard. She felt a sudden uncomfortable embarrassment in the back of her mind and she ‘heard’ an awkward cough. _I’m sorry Ashley, I should have told you. While we’re joined we will be aware of each other’s thoughts and emotions. If I’d known how you felt about the commander I would have been more restrained in my ‘admiration’ as you put it. I assure you, although I find the commander most intriguing, it is not in any romantic capacity._ Ash could feel Liara almost smirking. _I think now I understand your discomfit at my earlier suggestion of a meld._

It was Ash’s turn to be mortified and she mentally kicked herself before stammering. _Ah, no, that’s okay Liara. It’s not your fault. I didn’t really understand what I was feeling back then, I just knew I was jealous, I didn’t know why._

She felt Liara’s wry smile through the link. _And do you now?_

Ash could only smile back shyly and nod. _Yup, and I’m done hiding it. She means too much to me to keep living in denial. Though I can’t say it’s going to make things easy in the future._

_I’m sure you and the commander will figure it out Ash. Now, let’s go see if we can’t bring her back to you._

This time as Liara approached Shepard’s mind, she could sense the immensely powerful walls that surrounded it, but they seemed to recognize Ashley’s presence and slowly came down, allowing them to make contact. Moving past wall after wall, they completed the meld with Shepard’s mind. Liara gave Ashley a mental nudge. _Go and find her, I’ll do what I can to manage the integration of the Cipher with the beacon’s images._

_Umm, how do I do that?_

Liara patiently guided Ashley through the process _. Focus your mind, Chief; fix her in your thoughts. If you mean enough to her that she is willing to allow you past her defences, then I’ve little doubt she will feel your presence and be drawn to you. Be her anchor in the storm while I try to sort through the information overload and discern what I can._

Ashley did just that; fixing an image of Erisa Shepard firmly in her mind, along with all the resultant emotions and desires that came with it. She felt Liara blush a deep purple through the link at the intensity of her emotions but it couldn’t be helped and soon had the desired effect. Lying there on the biobed in the Normandy’s medlab she felt another consciousness join her and Liara. It was guarded and withdrawn, defensive, but most definitely Shepard. She could almost feel her body shiver in reaction to Erisa’s cold demeanour, but the sensation soon passed as the approaching mind recognised her.

 _Ash? What the hell... how are you here?_ Shepard sounded confused, and exhausted.

 _You’re unconscious, ‘Risa,_ Ash said, using a pet version of the commander’s name for the first time _. I came to talk to you about... well, about us, but I found you on the floor of your shower. Karin and I got you to the medbay so she could run some tests._ She could feel a rush of embarrassment through the meld, and had to suppress a mental smirk, turning it into a smile instead. _Don’t worry, I had Joker sound a call to stations, no one saw us carry you through the crew deck._ It was weird as hell being able to sense someone else’s emotions like this. She could see why the Asari would be careful, even choosy, about melding.Ash got another odd feeling, still embarrassed, but more personal and she blushed herself. _Oh... ah, don’t worry ‘Risa, I didn’t peek... much._

Ashley had to grin as the responding flare of emotion from Shepard as she answered. _Oh, that is NOT fair, Ashley. And since when do you call me ‘Risa?_ It wasn’t something she’d been called in a long time, but the way it rolled off of Ashley’s tongue; it just sounded right.

 _I figured that since we’re... joined, with Liara’s help I’ll admit, it was only fair I get to use your first name._ She blushed a little as she picked up Shepard’s thoughts regarding her tongue and coughed awkwardly. _Uh, I better warn you. When we’re linked like this, we’ll be aware of each others’ thoughts and emotions, and so will Liara, since she’s bridging our minds. So... we might want to keep anything personal for another time._

Erisa clamped down on her emotions as soon as she heard that and tried to focus more on the moment. _Wow... if you went to Liara for help, things must be bad. Okay, give me the run down Ash. What exactly happened... or is happening, to me?_

Ash did her best to explain in layman’s terms what was happening, relaying to Erisa what Karin and Liara had discovered and what their risky attempt at this meld was for. After the explanation, they both heard another voice join the mental conversation. It was Liara, her mellifluous voice sounding a little uncomfortable at having to intrude. _Hello commander. I’m sorry to interrupt, but this is even more difficult, and tiring, than I had imagined. It is good that Ashley managed to find you, I’m afraid I will need your help, there is too much for me to sort through alone._

Shepard nodded mentally. _Of course Doctor. We’d better get to work, pleasantries, thanks and apologies can wait until I’m conscious. What do you need from me?_

 _Please, focus on the beacon images._ Making herself focus on the beacon was difficult, since she had been working so hard to suppress the relevant images. It made it tough to get going but once they started flowing, it was like a mental dam suddenly gave way and they came flooding forward, more rapidly than she could process them. She received guidance from Liara, but perhaps more importantly, reassurance from Ashley. _C’mon ‘Risa, you can do this. Just listen to the doc. I’m right here with you if you need me._

Erisa felt a sudden surge of both support, and what was undeniably love, come from Ashley. It took her by surprise and her iron grasp on her own emotions slipped, letting the depth of her own love for Ash show briefly. Liara’s voice cut through the sudden wash of emotion and brought both women back to the task at hand. _Please, take control, Commander! I need you to focus. You can control the rate of flow. Do not let the images dictate to you. You own them. You control them. Force them to slow, to stop... good. Very good. Now, begin again, but slower this time, so I can see. Don't just let them flow, you have to show them to me slowly... ah, much better!_

Shepard could feel the presence of both women in her mind, one a reassuring, steadying hand, the other instructing her, guiding her to smooth out the image flow. Once the vision played itself through at a rate Liara could assimilate, she asked Shepard to repeat it once more, to make sure she hadn't missed anything, and to let Shepard control the image flow on her own. On the second pass, Liara concentrated solely on the images. Then, before terminating the link, Liara tried guiding the commander through setting up some protections for herself. It wasn’t necessary. Now that Shepard knew what it was she was dealing with, she treated it like just another of her traumatic experiences; boxing Prothean images up into a crate and locking it shut, shunting it into the same corner of her mind where she kept her memories of Mindoir and Akuze. It was there to call upon if needed, dragged out of the corner and into the light, but otherwise sealed away from everything else, no longer an open wound but just another mental scar. She could feel the weight of that new burden beginning to settle more comfortably upon her shoulders. Liara then guided the three of them through a relaxed, gentle withdrawal from the meld.

After the link was broken, Liara swayed, almost collapsing. Ashley caught her as she fell towards the biobed she was lying on, and swiftly slid off the bed, helping Liara onto it. “Whoa there, you okay doc?”

Ever the concerned doctor, Karin moved in to assess the young asari, beginning a preliminary scan. For her part, Liara gratefully accepted the offer of the bed and slumped down on it, thoroughly drained, almost to the point of exhaustion. "I’m fine, Ashley. Just exhausted. I had no idea it could be so... taxing... to join with more than one mind. I see now why only Matriarchs regularly perform such joinings."

Doctor Chakwas finished her scan and shook her head at the results. “You need immediate rest, my dear, and I’m going to administer an IV to replace electrolytes and some of your other more racial requirements. You’ve pushed yourself quite beyond what I’m comfortable with.” Her stern look softened slightly, “But... I was monitoring the commander’s status during the meld and her neural activity has returned to normal. It appears the procedure was a success.”

Ashley looked surprised. “I feel fine, doc. What’s with the other two?”

Before Karin could give an answer, Liara interjected, trying to figure out how to best explain it. "Well, I am the one who had to actually maintain the meld, and support you both until you learned to navigate. It was made more taxing by the initial lack of control from you and the commander... particularly when I had to force my way past her barriers. I was quite cut off from the two of you, initially.” She paused, trying to find some way to explain it to the marine in terms she might understand. “Think of it as taking down a kinetic barrier with your rifle, you need to expend considerable energy to get through.”

Ash could accept that metaphor with ease and nodded. “I’m sorry we had to put you through that Liara, and thank you for everything you did.” She smiled at the asari archaeologist; the expression warm and open. After bringing Shepard back to her, she no longer had any reservations about Liara. Why would she, now that she knew how the two women felt about each other... she had been present during some rather open exchanges of emotions.

Karin interrupted then, the IV neatly in Liara’s arm and the banana bag already replacing vital lost nutrients. “I’m going to have to insist Liara gets some rest now, Chief. You probably should too, we don’t really know yet what effect the meld may have had on you.” Liara’s eyes had already drifted shut, and she soon fell asleep; exhaustion claiming her. Ashley gently squeezes the asari’s arm in thanks. “Sleep well, doc.”

The ship’s doctor gave Ashley something of a maternal smile. “Go on, shoo. Get some rest. And yes, of course I’ll let you know the minute Shepard wakes up.” She smiled as she watched the young marine bend to kiss the now comfortably resting Erisa on the forehead. “I imagine the two of you must have quite a bit to discuss now, and not just about what the Cipher may have helped reveal.” Ashley smiled shyly and just nodded as she backed out of the medbay, obviously unwilling to let Shepard out of her sight.


	12. A Fresh Lead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> STG = Special Tactics Group  
> neutral player = LGBT slang for bisexual  
> kumanina = stupid fucker  
> AA = anti aircraft  
> SFG = sabotage field generator  
> EMP = electromagnetic pulse

Kaidan gave a soft sigh as he stood in the comm. room, doing his best to report to the Citadel Council. Doctor Chakwas had informed him only a few hours ago that Commander Shepard was being monitored in the medbay for ‘exhaustion following events on Feros’. What exactly that meant he wished he knew, but the chief medical officer had just given him temporary command of field operations, and as such, the responsibility for writing the after action report and submitting it to the Council was his. At least he’d been on the ground team for the entire op and didn’t have to rely on crew debriefs to compile his report. Presenting it to the Council was what he wasn’t looking forward to, having to defend Shepard’s command decisions for her wasn’t going to be easy. He knew circumstances had dictated that they promote Shepard to the position before they were convinced of her suitability, and her actions so far hadn’t exactly endeared her to them, but once they’d accepted that her role as a Spectre was a necessity, did they really have to question literally every decision she made? "Councillors, as I told you at the start, Commander Shepard is still under medical evaluation by Dr Chakwas. She will not be released to any form of active duty until our chief medical officer is satisfied, so yes, she still remains unavailable to answer questions."

The Turian councillor, Sparatus, was clearly agitated. "We simply must know if she gleaned any pertinent information from the Asari released by the Thorian, this Shiala, and why Shepard chose to leave her with the colonists and not take a known, willing, conspirator with Matriarch Benezia, into custody! Not to mention the... debacle she has dragged this Council into with the ExoGeni Corporation!"

That last remark was about as much as Kaidan was willing to take from the arrogant Turian and he came back, firing on all cylinders. “I would hardly call it a debacle, Councillor! The Commander uncovered definitive proof, corroborated by eyewitness testimony from at least three ExoGeni sources and a dozen colonists that ExoGeni was covertly, and illegally, testing the initial phase of a biological weapon on a sentient species! ExoGeni has contravened articles four and five of the Menae Accords regarding biogenic weapons, and section 36 of the Galactic Charter of Sentient Rights in terms of illegally experimenting on a sentient species, a species which is a Council recognized race, no less!”

Kaidan gave both Sparatus and Valern a hard stare. “And given the circumstances under which the Genophage was released, both the Turian Hierarchy and the Salarian Union may want to consider their positions before arguing against the Commander’s interpretation of Council Law.”

Both Councillors gave him a cold look and Sparatus’ tone was ominous when he spoke. “I would choose your next words carefully, if I were you lieutenant. The Alliance has no place in commenting on those events. They were well before Humanity’s time.”

“Hardly a salient fact, Councillor.” Kaidan replied, before continuing. “Under her authority as a Spectre, Commander Shepard attempted to arrest the senior company representative present, Ethan Jeong, when she was forced to defend herself as Mister Jeong attempted to resist whilst under arms. When it became clear that Exogeni had already dispatched a ship and clean up team to ‘contain’ the situation, the Commander requested that the Alliance Fifth Fleet quarantine the planet on behalf of the Spectres and Colonial Affairs. Shiala is not going anywhere, Councillor, she is at Zhu’s Hope, under arrest and awaiting interrogation. Commander Shepard deemed it unwise to take her into custody aboard a vessel with mission critical intelligence, in case her seeming repentance was an act.”  


Tevos, the Asari councillor, tried to calm the discussion. "Let it be, Sparatus. The lieutenant’s argument, and his report, clearly explain the Commander’s actions. Now, let's move this session onto the true reason we contacted the Normandy in the first place." Sparatus grumbled an unwilling acquiescence, so Tevos continued, "We  have other agents in the field trying to track Saren's movements and have recently received reports from a Salarian Special Tactics Group on the planet Virmire. I leave Councillor Valern to speak on the details of this matter."

Kaidan politely directed his attention to the Salarian, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, anything that meant he didn’t have to argue with Sparatus anymore. Valern started slowly, as if to emphasize every word, "Yes... we've had a team shadowing Geth movements and they ended up on Virmire, in the Hoc system of the Sentry Omega Cluster. Unfortunately, their report transmission was garbled, and we have been unable to re-establish contact."

Kaidan nodded slowly, it was easy enough to see where this was leading, and he finished the Councillor’s unspoken thoughts. "And because Spectre Shepard,” he said, emphasising the commander’s official capacity to the Council, “is the lead on the investigation into and search for Saren you want us to assess their situation and salvage any intel they may have gathered."

Valern steepled his fingers and nodded at the Human, glad to see he could be diplomatic when it was required. "They are most capable, and I'm sure this is merely a failure of communications. Spectre Shepard is to rendezvous with the STG team on planet, collect any and all relevant intelligence and follow any leads the team may furnish you with."

Kaidan gave a respectful nod. When it came to Shepard and the Normandy, the Council seemed to be particularly thin skinned. It didn’t help that Shepard wasn’t very respectful of them, they took her brusque, cold manner as a reflection of her opinion on the Council itself when most anyone who’d ever served with the Ice Queen could attest that that was just how Shepard operated. Her tendency to openly hang up on their calls when she was done reporting seemed to irk them no end. They really didn't like that, and Shepard seemed to get a perverse pleasure out of it. Kaidan couldn’t quite understand why she did it himself, but he knew that given Shepard's talents and the level of respect and loyalty she commanded from her crew, the Council should count themselves lucky that was all she did. He looked to the group of three before him, "Is there anything else you need, Councillors, or any additional information you wish me to pass on to Commander Shepard?"

The councillors glanced back and forth among themselves and upon receiving confirmatory nods, Councillor Tevos concluded, "No, that will be all. Please have Commander Shepard get in touch with us once you collect the data from Virmire." Her hand then flicked to the holographic panel in front of her, and the councillors vanished from view.

As Kaidan stepped out of the conference room, he tapped his omnitool. "Joker, looks like we got a new destination. I’m afraid the Citadel will have to wait. Point us at Virmire, best speed."

After a brief pause, Joker piped over the comm., "Roger that LT, new course laid in. Plotting ETA now."

\-----------------------------

Karin monitored Erisa as she slept that night, and she was glad to see the commander get a good eight hours of solid, uninterrupted rest. It was at least double what she knew Shepard usually managed, and she didn’t dream once; though Karin thought it more likely that it was the mental exhaustion that kept her ghosts at bay than any sense of closure. That wouldn’t happen until she managed to forgive herself for Akuze; and that had been six years ago with no sign that Shepard would ever lay down that burden any time soon. The doctor knew that Shepard carried the weight of the dead with her as penance, and no amount of therapy or treatment was ever likely to convince her otherwise. The door to the medbay swished open and Ashley Williams entered, carrying a clean uniform for the commander. Like all of them, Karin had only known the Chief since Eden Prime, but the woman who entered her sick bay looked a lot different from the tired, battered marine they’d rescued that day. She looked more alive, and happier, than Karin had ever seen her and they both knew why.

“Mornin’ doc. How is she?”

“She’s doing well,” Chakwas replied, “even managed a full eight hours sleep. Which for her is a record.” She looked down the empty medbay to where the commander lay asleep. Liara had returned to her own room only a few hours ago, with orders to stay off her feet for the rest of the day; and even Tali had been discharged early that morning. The little quarian was still off the duty roster for another five days or so, but Karin had been happy enough with her recovery to let her recuperate in her bunk and visit the mess hall. It had also gotten Wrex out of her hair. _Lord,_ she thought to herself, _who’d have ever thought a Battlemaster would be such a mother hen?_

“Brought her a fresh uniform; you know, since we carried her in here almost naked. Can... can I sit with her?” The doctor smiled at Ashley and nodded. “Of course, my dear. Just don’t wake her. Let her come around in her own time.” The chief nodded and Karin could have sworn she saw the rough tough marine having to hold back from skipping down the bay. Ash laid the clean clothing at the foot of the biobed and quietly wheeled over one of the medbay’s uncomfortable stools, taking a seat beside the sleeping form of Erisa Shepard. Very gently, she slipped her right hand into Shepard’s left and held it tenderly, having to resist the urge to run her fingers through that ragged black pixie cut Erisa called hair. Ash just watched her sleep, and felt oddly content. Oh, there was a little niggle in the back of her mind that constantly tried to remind her that Shepard was her CO; that Alliance regs specifically prohibited fraternization; and that really, she, Ashley Williams, wasn’t into girls, but sitting here, looking at Erisa’s sharp features, it took surprisingly little effort to push that niggle aside. She didn’t care what regs said, or what her stubborn brain was having trouble figuring out. She knew in her heart that she loved the woman in front of her, loved her so stupidly, she’d do anything for her. And for now, that was enough.

After a while, Shepard started to stir. She drifted up out of blissful, dreamless slumber to the feel of fingers brushing through her hair. Even before her eyes opened she could smell a familiar scent and it made her smile. Navy issue shampoo and gun oil. Her left hand squeezed tight, knowing she’d find Ash’s hand in hers, and opened her eyes, blinking sleepily. The first thing she saw was Ash’s face, a radiant smile beaming at her. The chief’s hair was out of its bun and fell in brunette waves over her features; she looked so beautiful it was all Erisa could do not to lean up and kiss her. The last time that had happened, things hadn’t gone so well and she daren’t risk a repeat. “Hmm,” she moaned gently, “Mornin’. What time is it?”

Ashley squeezed back, holding Erisa’s hand fondly, and she brushed an errant black lock out of the way as she answered. “Morning to you too, sleepy head. It’s just past zero nine hundred. I brought you a fresh set of fatigues. Thought maybe if the doc okays it, I could take you to breakfast? Seems to me, after last night we probably ought to talk.”

At the mention of breakfast, Erisa suddenly realised she was starving and she nodded. She remembered last night too; everything Karin and Ash and Liara had done to save her mind, but one memory stood out above all the rest. The intense, unadulterated rush of feeling the love that Ashley had projected towards her. And it hadn’t been a sisterly affection type of love, but the real thing; the same thing she’d been feeling for Ashley ever since Edolus. Once more she was glad of her dark skin as it covered a light blush and she coughed to clear her throat. “Ah yeah, I guess we should.” She gave Ash _her_ smile and sat up, stretching slightly. “There are definitely things to say... things that need deciding.”

Karin asked Ashley to wait outside while she gave Shepard a quick once over so she could confirm the commander was fit for duty, then warn her against melds with strange asari before leaving her to dress. Shepard had done her best to hold onto the distance she had to keep between herself and her crew; but Karin was too close, the closest thing she had left to a mother, and she couldn’t keep the grin off of her face all throughout the examination. Karin had noticed and given her a stern shake of the head. “You might want to get your head out of the clouds, my girl. It’s one thing for me to overlook a few regulations, but if the entire ship finds out then you’ll both be in trouble. Her more than you, so you might want to keep that in mind. You at least have your Spectre status to protect you, the Chief’s still fighting the stigma of her family name; the last thing her career needs is the scandal of an affair with her commanding officer.”

Erisa frowned, a sinking feeling entering her gut, but she wasn’t ready yet to give up on the fantasy. “Damn it Karin! Why the hell are you telling me this now? You think I don’t know this makes things difficult? You think I don’t know how bad this could look for Ash if it got out? I can’t _remember_ the last time I was anything close to happy, so don’t think for a moment I don’t know how god damn awful this is.” She started pulling on the fresh fatigues, fuming quietly, when she saw a blue nanotex glove tucked into one of her boots and her heart skipped a beat; all her anger evaporating. Whirling back to Karin, she held it up, the first glint of tears forming in her eyes and her voice was gentle. “See? This is what I mean. She remembered a glove for me, Karin. She knows me better than anyone ever has, before _or_ after Akuze, and I have to go out there and break _both_ of our hearts because some stupid reg says we can’t be together!”

Her voice had gotten loud again, but Chakwas simply weathered the storm and waited for it to pass. “Are you done? Can I finish now?” she asked plainly.

Erisa looked at Karin coldly, the blue glove clenched tightly in her fist, but Karin met her gaze with one just as stubborn and Erisa’s face soon turned sheepish. “You knew I knew all that didn’t you?” she asked softly.

Karin’s stubborn gaze softened and she pulled Erisa into a motherly hug. “Yes, you silly goose. Of course I knew! What I was going to suggest is that you and Ashley talk in here. There’s no one to overhear except Liara, and she already knows how you two feel about one another.” Her smile turned sly. “What I wouldn’t have been given to been a fly on the wall during that meld.”

Shepard’s eyes turned to slits and Karin held up her hands, laughing softly. “I’m sorry my dear, I couldn’t resist. Now, I’m happy to return you to duty, so before that happens why don’t you and Ashley stay in here and discuss what you need to while I go fetch you both some breakfast?”

With that, Karin left the medbay and a curious Ashley wandered back in, a little hesitantly to be sure. Erisa suspected neither of them was looking forward to the discussion they knew was coming. They both knew the regs and neither of them had any idea of a way around them. “Sooo...” Ashley breathed as she walked up to her friend and the woman she loved, “I guess we oughta have that talk.” Shepard surprised them both in that next moment by walking straight up to Ashley and without preamble, took Ash’s face in gentle hands, cupping her cheeks in her palms and lightly caressing her cheekbones before pulling her into a hot blooded, passionate kiss. Her pink tongue lightly brushed over Ashley’s full lips, tasting them before probing further.

Ash didn’t resist and almost melted against Erisa, her own arms sliding around the commander’s slim waist and locking them together as her lips parted, the tip of her own tongue snaking out to swipe against Erisa’s; inviting it to probe deeper. The kiss lasted almost a full minute; tongues lightly duelling and passing back and forth between mouths as soft lips pressed together hungrily. Ash’s hands gently stroked ‘Risa’s back whilst one of hers ended up tangled in Ash’s brunette tresses, the other arm wrapped about her shoulders.

Shepard was the first to break the kiss, reluctantly, so very reluctantly pushing Ashley back a step. Her dark eyes practically glowed and her voice was a little thick with a mix of both love and lust when she spoke, looking at the Chief hungrily. “I’m sorry Ash; I just _had_ to do that. Just in case that’s the last time I ever get to kiss you I wanted it to be good.” Oh god had it been good, Ash tasted like blueberries.

For her part, Ashley was highly disappointed when the kiss ended. It was only the second time she’d ever kissed another woman, and the first had been the spontaneous kiss with Shepard on the floor of the gym a few nights ago. She hadn’t really been paying attention the first time either, primarily swept up in the temptation of the moment and it’s romance; then drowned out by the torrent of her own confusion and conflicting feelings. This time however, she was paying attention and she couldn’t believe that just kissing could be that amazing. She gave Erisa a slightly dizzy grin, her senses still spinning. “You know, I really hope that isn’t going to be the last time, but if it is; it was _amazing_.” Shepard blushed a little at the compliment, stepping back towards Ashley. Slowly she reached down to take Ash’s hands in hers until they stood there in the medlab, foreheads touching and fingers interlocked on both hands. She didn’t want to break the magic of their silent moment, but they both knew one of them had to. It was Ashley who managed to find the courage to speak first.

“We can’t be together, can we?” It was a statement really, not a question, and Erisa could feel her heart sinking, falling into a deep pit even as Ashley spoke the words. She shook her head slowly, struggling to find her voice. “No, no we can’t. Not like this anyway.” It was Ash’s turn to feel her heart ache and she sniffed gently, doing her utmost not to cry like some sappy, love sick teenager. It was a sentiment Shepard shared, even if she did feel her own eyes threatening to spill over. “I could always transfer you,” she offered, “maybe ask Anderson to find you a post onboard the Citadel or at Arcturus? I’d be able to come visit, whenever the Normandy was close by. We’d at least be able to explore what this is...” She was cut off by a very vehement Ashley. “No way, ‘Risa, I only just found you so don’t you dare tell me I’m leaving or try to send me away. Besides,” she said with a wan smile, “you promised me we’d take Saren down together, for the 212 and every other marine his Geth have killed.” Lifting her head to gaze into Erisa’s eyes, Ash could see her own love reflected back. “If that means I have to suck it up and make do with just being your friend, then so be it. For the time being, at least.” She shrugged gently. “Once we’ve taken the bastard down then maybe I’ll ask for that transfer and we can explore... this. Anyway, if I left who’d be stupid enough to catch you next time you set off a volcano?”

Erisa sniffed away the threatening tears and chuckled at the reference to Therum, remembering the day she’d started to fall for Ashley. “Okay, so that’s a no to the transfer idea, I get it.” Her voice became serious, even as she clung to Ashley, never wanting to let go. “But if you stay it’s not going to easy, Ash. Can you honestly say you’ll always be able to keep your position in mind, or put the mission first; above me? Because I honestly can’t say that I will. What... what we’ll have and what we want won’t ever be the same and you’re a distraction.” Erisa could see the pain her words caused writ clear on Ashley’s face and she softly kissed her again, forcing a smile she didn’t feel; even if her words were true. “Don’t get me wrong, a beautiful, sexy distraction with the most amazing brown eyes... but a distraction nonetheless. So don’t you dare think I want you to go, because believe me, there is nothing I want more than for you to stay and us to be together...”

“But we can’t,” finished Ashley despondently. She paused and thought for a moment, then leant in to give Erisa a long, slow kiss that embodied all of her feelings; the love, the lust and the sense of loss at having to give this up so soon. Then she stepped back, pulling away from Shepard and masking the pain that simple act of separation caused her. “Well, if that’s how it has to be, then I guess we’ll just have to learn to cope.” She gave a wry smile that did little to hide the ache she felt. “We’re marines right? We’re used to doing things the hard way. Just another day in the Corps.”

Erisa wanted nothing more than to pull Ashley back into her arms and kiss her again, to stroke that long, chestnut hair and tell her that everything would be alright. But she didn’t. Ashley had had the courage to pull away first, to make that hard call for the both of them and she wouldn’t undermine that sacrifice. Instead, she plastered a fake smile over her face and answered the Chief in the way she knew Ash would be expecting. “Hoo-rah, Gunny.”

Straightening, Ash did her best to smile. “I better get going, my duty shift starts soon and I need to double check the armoury’s supplies before we hit the Citadel. We’re starting to run into tougher resistance so we might need to upgrade our weapons and equipment.” Pulling herself up, she saluted Shepard. The sudden distance between them tore at Erisa, but she knew it was necessary and so saluted back; the Chief was right and keeping their ranks firmly between them would help remind them that their sacrifice was necessary. Once Saren’s corpse was cooling and his geth were dismantled, then and only then could they look to their future. “Good idea Chief. I better get my own gear squared away; I think I left it in rather a sorry state last night. Dismissed, Williams.”

They left the medlab separately, Ash heading towards the elevator and the armoury whilst Shepard crossed the crew deck headed for her quarters. She stopped at the mess hall to pick up a cup of coffee and something resembling breakfast when Kaidan came down the stairs from the command deck, jogging to catch up with her as he spotted her. “Commander, you got a minute?”

Shepard nodded and motioned for him to follow her. “Sure thing LT. My ready room okay? I’m a little behind on the cleaning and my paperwork, so you talk and I’ll work.” Arriving at her quarters, she slapped the panel to open the door and led the lieutenant inside. Her weapons and combat harness were still on the desk where she’d dumped them beside a stack of datapads that needed reviewing and her armour was stacked messily in a corner. Putting down her coffee, she took a bite of her bagel and took a seat at her desk, moving her weapons to one side. “Okay Alenko, let’s hear it.”

Kaidan stood at ease in front of the commander’s desk and began his report. “We received new orders from the Council whilst you were in sick bay ma’am. I’m afraid the Citadel will have to wait; we’ve been diverted to Virmire, in the Hoc system of the Sentry Omega Cluster. Apparently an STG team has been tracking Geth movements in the area and has found something the Council deemed relevant to our mission.” He paused and rubbed the back of his neck. “We don’t have anything more tangible to go on other than a garbled distress signal though, whatever the Salarians have found must know they’re there and is jamming their communications.” Shepard nodded as she listened, giving him her full attention as her hands moved instinctively through the routine of breaking down and cleaning both her Viper and her Tempest. “Moreau already plotted a course?”

Alenko nodded. “We’re already underway; ETA is another...” he checked his chrono, “eighteen hours. Should be there by eighteen hundred ship time. Zero eight hundred local.”

Putting aside her weapons, Shepard gave Kaidan a rare smile. “Thanks for stepping up for me, LT. I don’t know how much Dr Chakwas told you but I was down thanks to that damn Cipher. Took a meld with Dr T’soni to bring me out of it. The information overload apparently sent me right into neural shock.” She sipped her coffee then rummaged through a drawer for a bottle of aspirin, popping several and throwing her head back to dry swallow them. “Not as fun as it sounds.” Kaidan relaxed and grinned a little. “Doesn’t sound it, ma’am. Did we at least learn anything useful from it?”

Shepard shook her head, her disappointment obvious. “No good news, if that’s what you were hoping for. It was definitely a warning of some kind, but it was incomplete. Our working theory is that when the beacon exploded, the remainder of the message was cut off. I didn’t get the full download, so to speak.” The lieutenant frowned and started pacing as he thought it through, Shepard didn’t mind, it gave her more time to finish cleaning and stowing her kit and she appreciated Kaidan’s keen, analytical approach. It differed slightly from her more overarching, tactical mindset so he often picked up little details she discarded as irrelevant.  "So, we still need more information to track down Saren, and we have to hope we find info on the Conduit before he does. You sure there's absolutely nothing in the vision we can use?"

"Nothing immediately apparent. T’soni saw the same images through the meld though, and once she’s rested her prothean expertise might help her spot something I missed. That remains to be seen, but we can hope." Shepard gave a shrug and finished her quick breakfast after she stowed her weapons and she started to look through the backlog of ship reports she had to sign off on. “That it, Alenko, or is there more I need to know about?”

Turning from the cabin’s small window, Kaidan shook his head. “Not much else to report ma’am. The Turian councillor wasn’t exactly pleased with the mess you left behind back on Feros; the Exogeni situation, I mean. Tevos and Valern were a little more understanding, especially once I pointed out you were only following Spectre protocols that they, the Council that is, created.” He paused, his face twisting up; as if he was unsure he should keep speaking. Shepard looked up at him and frowned. “Come on LT, out with it. You’ve got something to say so let’s hear it.”

“It’s Sparatus, ma’am. I’d keep an eye on him. My gut tells me he’s opposing your every move out of something more than hurt feelings and institutionalised xenophobia. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has some kind of previous tie with Saren.” That was something Shepard hadn’t considered before and the idea wasn’t a nice one. “Good catch, Alenko. As much as I don’t like Udina I might have to mention the possibility to him in my next encrypted communiqué. If Sparatus does have some kind of link to Saren I want to know about it, and if there’s one good thing I can say about humanity’s Ambassador, it’s that he knows his job.”

Kaidan nodded but she could sense he wasn’t done yet. “Look LT, I’m still a little sore, I’ve got a stack of reports to review, I could do with a proper meal and I want a shower sometime real soon. And that’s all before I clean my armour and review Alliance and Spectre data on Virmire so I can put together a plan for rescuing our STG associates. So spill already. If you want permission to speak freely, it’s yours.”  

“I wasn’t sure I should say anything ma’am and I know it’s none of my business... but what’s with you and the Chief?”

Erisa dropped the datapad she was scanning and stood up, taking a step towards Kaidan, her dark eyes narrowing coldly. "I’d be very careful how you proceed with this line of questioning, if I were you Lieutenant. Now, with that in mind would you care to elaborate on that last question?” Kaidan opened his mouth, and then closed it again, saying nothing, his neck and face growing redder by the moment. The commander watched him in cold silence, waiting. "Well, come on, Lieutenant. I gave you permission to speak freely. Let's hear it!" At that, Erisa crossed her arms over her chest, a wintry gaze boring into Kaidan, awaiting his response.

Kaidan visibly gulped, then took a deep breath before responding, "I’m sorry, Commander. I know this isn’t exactly an easy situation, but I would be remiss in my duties as an Alliance officer if I didn’t say something. I’m... concerned about your relationship with Chief Williams. I’ve noticed it’s becoming... less than professional.” He paused a moment. “Or perhaps the right wording is _more_ than professional. You can’t deny there is something going on there, Commander. The entire field unit knows it, just in the way you two look at one another, how you respond to each other. I’m not saying you favour her over others, ma’am, not yet. But I am worried that the pair of you are coming dangerously close to breaking regulations.” His tone was one of concern rather than any kind of self interest, and Erisa’s icy gaze thawed a little. “Go on...”

Kaidan gave a swallow of relief; it looked like he was out of the firing line for now. “I consider you both to be friends, Commander, even if you might see me more as crew. I don’t want to see either of you making a mistake that could damage your careers or interfere with the mission. Your reputation might be enough to insulate you from the rumours that have started circling the boat, but Ashley is in a completely different position.”

Shepard sighed and dropped her icy gaze, walking back across the room to pick up her coffee cup. “I appreciate the concerns you have Alenko, and to be honest, there is _something_ between Williams and I. But,” she said, emphasising the word heavily, “we’ve discussed it and agreed not to pursue any mutual attraction. You can breathe easy, lieutenant. You won’t have to report any infractions of Alliance regulations. I’m as concerned as you are about the possible career damage, especially to Ash, and the risks going down that road would pose to our mission efficacy.” She paused and gave Kaidan a faint smile. “Maybe one day Williams and I will be able to explore the options, but not today; not while we have a mission to complete. Does that satisfy your professional concerns, Lieutenant?”

To his credit, Kaidan had stood his ground against Shepard’s temper and ice cold manner, and he nodded once. “Yes ma’am, I believe it does.”

She wanted to make sure Kaidan understood something important before he left. "Look,  you’re one of the good ones, LT. This mission and this team needs you. I need you, Kaidan,” she said, using his first name to drive home her point. “I don’t see this getting done, otherwise. You're an excellent officer and one of the finest soldiers I’ve had the privilege to serve with. The Alliance needs more like you."

Kaidan nodded, but a slight smile crept over his features. “You know, I never would have picked the Chief as batting for the other team.” Shepard couldn’t help but smile wryly. “I don’t think she knew herself. I think she’s like me, more of a neutral player. You’re dismissed, LT.” Kaidan saluted and turned on his heel, leaving the room.

With a good eighteen hours before the Normandy arrived at Virmire, it gave Shepard plenty of time to catch up on her daily paperwork as well as file her official request for a joint Spectre/Colonial Affairs investigation into ExoGeni’s activities on Feros and send Admiral Hackett a thank you note for supporting her request for Alliance intervention on the behalf of Zhu’s Hope. Then she cleaned up her armour and returned her weapons to the armoury to be refitted and replenished. Wrex was already there, cleaning his Eviscerator and Raptor battle rifle, and he looked over to Shepard as she handed the petty officer in charge of requisitions a list of mods they needed to acquire soon. “So,” his deep rumble began, “looks like we've got Saren on the run.”

Shepard gave the huge Battlemaster a frosty smile and nodded. “It won't be long now, big man. Saren's good but I'm better.”

“Good?” he retorted, incredulously. “He's rotten. To the core. I could tell that the moment I met him.”

That got her attention and Shepard whirled about to look at the giant krogan, the frosty smile sliding off of her face and her voice was icy as she demanded an explanation. “What the hell, Wrex? You think maybe that’s not something you might have wanted to tell me sooner? Here we are hunting the bastard and now I find out you’ve met him?”

He gave a vague shrug that irritated the Commander no end. “I would have, if I'd thought it was important.”

“You _kumanina!_ Okay, Urdnot Wrex... let’s get something straight right now. This is a Spectre operation, hunting a dangerous, rogue Spectre with a private army of synthetics through independent space, not some merry jaunt into the Traverse to exterminate a few pirates. _I_ decide what's important; you might want to start getting that through that obstinate skull of yours!” Sighing, she shook her head in frustration and folded her arms over her chest. “Now tell me how you know Saren.”

Wrex merely shrugged and grunted. “Hnnh, whatever you say, Shepard. Let me see, this was a while ago. A bunch of mercs were bragging about a job out near the edges of the Terminus Systems. They said it paid well and the boss was never around to ride them. They said he was looking for more men, too. So I checked it out.”

Shepard frowned at the revelation. “Spectre intel didn’t have any reports of Saren openly recruiting mercs. But then again, this was before anyone knew his plans.”

“Don’t feel too bad, like I said, it wasn't that open. And he only showed his face once. We'd been raiding ships in the area for months when we took out this massive cargo freighter. Our biggest haul yet. I was on board checking bodies for valuables, looking for some extra credits. That's when I saw him.”

She’d calmed down a little by now and managed to regain her civility at least. “Okay, so do you know what Saren wanted with the ship?”

“I don't know what he wanted.” Wrex grunted, snapping his shotgun back together and wiping it with an oily cloth, “He was just moving through the ship, watching. Couple of the mercs called him by name but he never spoke to them. Never spoke to anyone. I had a real bad feeling about him, so I got the hell out. Didn't even wait to get paid.”

“And that's the only time you saw him?” she asked, looking for a definitive answer.

Wrex nodded. “Yeah. Didn't even know who he was. Still wouldn't if I hadn't joined up with you. But my instincts were right. Every other merc on that mission turned up dead within a week.”

“Damn,” she whispered, letting out a low whistle. “Those are some good instincts, Wrex. Though I gotta say, I’m having trouble imagining anyone getting the better of you.”

The big krogan laughed. “There’s always someone better, Shepard. That’s why you keep fighting.” He cast a reptilian eye over to where Ashley was working on her own armour. “Soooo, you and the Chief knockin’ boots yet?” He asked with his normal directness.

Shepard followed his gaze and couldn’t help a soft sigh of longing as she watched Ashley. “Not that it’s anyone’s business but ours, but no. It's complicated Wrex, what with us both being Alliance, and me being her commanding officer. Breaks all sorts of regs.”

The Battlemaster finished reassembling his Raptor and sniffed. “So? You’re a Spectre ain’t you? Didn’t think you guys had rules. Whatever you do Shepard, don’t live to regret not taking the chance. We can all see she makes you happy. Ball’s in your court, as you humans say.” With that, he stood up and stowed his weapons in his locker. “I’m heading up to the mess hall. It’s lasagne today. Not bad stuff, for human food.”

Wrex’s advice echoed in her ears for a while after he left, but despite his wisdom, she knew it wasn’t that easy. Things between her and Ash would just have to wait. While down in the cargo hold she figured she’s take the time to catch up with the rest of the ground crew as well, and Garrus was her next stop, catching up with him as he was prepping the Mako for the drop into Virmire. As she approached, he looked up at her and nodded; a slight smile on his bird-like face. “My sniper tally for Feros was thirty eight, commander. I believe someone mentioned drinks?”

That got a laugh out of Erisa and she smiled softly. She liked Garrus, they were alike in many ways, and his subtle, barbed humour had a way of deflating her fouler moods, or raising her spirits when they were ebbing. “Damn,” she said, snapping her fingers, “I made it to thirty two. Alright Vakarian, next time we hit the Citadel, looks like I’m buying.”

Garrus gave a dry smirk. “Hope the Alliance pays well, Turian brandy is expensive.” Changing tack, he moved on to business, for although he too was curious about the exact state of Erisa and Ashley’s fluctuating relationship, he was too much the professional soldier to mention it. “I went through my old C-Sec files earlier, re-examining my investigation into Saren in case I missed anything that might help. Sorry to say I’ve nothing new to report.”

The mention of C-Sec made her curious and rather uncharacteristically, she asked him about it. “Why'd you want to be C-Sec in the first place, Vakarian?”

“Hmm, that's a good question.” Garrus took a moment to think about it as he loaded a fresh drum of ammunition into the Mako’s heavy machinegun. “There were several reasons, I guess.”

Shepard gave him a gentle nudge. “Like what?”

“Probably the same as most officers. I wanted to fight injustice, wanted to help people. I guess my father had something to do with it too. He was C-Sec. One of the best. I grew up hearing about his accomplishments, or seeing his picture on the vids after a big arrest. He's taking my resignation pretty hard.” Garrus looked a little crestfallen at that.

“I’m getting the feeling he's not impressed that you're going after Saren?”

The turian renegade shook his head. “My father's a C-Sec man to the bone. Do things right, or don't do them at all, he says. Thinks I'm being too rash. Too impatient. He's worried I'll become just like Saren.” He paused and gave Shepard a good natured smirk. “He actually talked me out of becoming a Spectre when I was younger. For the same reasons.”

Shepard’s eyebrow raised, a little surprised at that tasty nugget of information. “You were asked to be a Spectre?”

“Well, not quite. I was targeted as a possible Spectre candidate. Me and about a thousand other turian military recruits. I could have received special training, but my father didn't like it. He despises the Spectres. He hates the idea of someone having unlimited power with no accountability. He wouldn't like you, Commander. No offence.” That good natured smirk made reappearance.

Erisa snorted derisively. “Spoken like a true C-Sec officer.”

“Yeah,” Garrus agreed. “It's a speech I've heard one too many times. But Saren's not going to play by our rules, C-Sec's rules. If you want to nail Saren, you need to send someone who isn't restricted by policies and procedures.” He looked at Shepard, professional admiration in his normally inscrutable gaze. “Someone like you, commander.”

Shepard blushed, but not noticeably. She wasn’t used to compliments, considering her usual methods more often provoked reprimands and demands for explanations. “Thanks Garrus, but this is a team effort. We'll beat the arrogant bastard at his own game. It's the only way to stop someone like him.”

The two comrades shared a grin before Erisa swung back into commander mode. "Alright, we're still about ten hours out, so guess we better get to it. You finish prepping the Mako then grab something to eat and take it easy. We’ve got no idea what to expect once we get dirtside so I need everyone rested and primed. Only Tali’s sitting this one out.” She gave Garrus a dry smile. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not game to risk taking her out of sick bay until Chakwas clears her. I get the feeling Wrex would have my head." Garrus just smirked and nodded. “I’m on it, Shepard.”

Erisa cast a last look across the cargo bay to where Ash was working, but forced herself to walk back to the elevator. As much as she wanted to go say hi, she knew that if the pair of them were serious about trying to remain just friends and keep working together, she’d need to give Ashley some space. Stepping into the elevator, she headed back up to the crew deck. Wrex was right, it was lasagne day in the mess hall and she was starving.

\------------------------------

Ten hours later, the Normandy red shifted and dropped out of FTL, switching immediately to her stealth systems as she glided smoothly into geosynchronous orbit above Virmire. Ship’s klaxons sounded station call and Shepard rose from her office chair smoothly, ready to head to the armory to don her gear and load up her weapons. She was just arriving in the armoury when Joker’s voice came over the comm., sounding even less enthusiastic than normal. "Commander. We're here, and you're not going to like it."

Shepard got a familiar, and recently all too frequent, feeling in her gut. "What kind of shit storm we flying into this time, Moreau?"

Joker's voice dripped with sarcasm when he responded, "Oh, I’d call it a class 3 turdnado. Good news is I've found the STG base of operations, but communications are being jammed so I can't reach them. Bad news, there’s a full battery of AA guns active on every vector between their position and orbit. We can't even get close. You're going to have to drop in the Mako and take at least two down for us to have a clear flight path."

"Roger that, Moreau. Good spotting.” She looked at the assembled field operatives and gestured for silence as they all kitted up. “A full battery and broadband frequency jamming says they’ve got something down there they want hidden; and that makes me curious. Whatever it is, it is definitely worth taking a peek at, but we can’t forget out primary; find and assist the STG unit on site. We need to find them first. Any indication of what's on the ground? Geth? Commandos?" Erisa didn’t hesitate to ask the last obvious question, and her dark face took on a predatory, wolfish look at the idea her quarry might be near. "Saren?"

"Negative, Commander. A lot of jamming, probably the same as what's blocking the STG signal, but whatever's down there I'm sure it's not going to be pretty..."

Commander Shepard turned to the field team. "Williams, Vakarian, you’re with me. Lt. Alenko, you have command of bravo squad, that’s you, Wrex and Dr T’soni. I want you ready in case we need back up. We have no idea what we’ll find down there but if Saren’s pattern holds we can expect Geth and possibly some organics, so load up on disruptors, SFGs, EMP charges and spare barrier packs. Bravo squad, I want you packing inferno rounds and fusion grenades. If we come across organics, they’re your primary. Leave the synthetics to Alpha. Now get on the ready line!" she bellowed, tough as any sergeant. Returning her attention to the comm., Shepard pinged Joker. "Moreau, find us a landing zone and map the route to everyone's omnitools... let's do this by the numbers, mister." With the prospect of combat so close, she could feel the familiar rush of adrenaline and fear flooding her system and she grinned, it made her feel more like a marine than anything else did. As both squads assembled on the ready line for equipment check, she slapped their helmets as they moved past her, counting them off. “One... two... three... four... five absolute badasses!” She gave the entire field team another wolfish grin as they started to move to positions. “Okay, pack ‘em in! I want combat seating. If Saren is on this ball of rock, boys and girls, then today’s the last day he draws breath! Hoo-rah!”  Her change in demeanour didn’t go unnoticed but her enthusiasm was so different from her usual reserved manner, it was infectious, and the nonhumans responded only a beat after the other two marines. “Hoo-rah!” Erisa grinned to herself hungrily and climbed in the Mako.


	13. Virmire Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ECO = Electronics & Communications Officer  
> PDS = Point Defence System  
> Sierras = military code for Synthetics  
> STG = Special Tactics Group  
> APC = Armoured Personnel Carrier  
> ICE = Information Corrupting Engine  
> SFG = sabotage field generator

As they approached the landing zone in the falling Mako, the commander activated the external cameras and took in the view. While Virmire had a lot of ocean covering the surface, a wide equatorial band was covered with lush, tropical forest. The planet was beautiful, but Erisa wasn’t paying that aspect of Virmire any attention; instead she was consumed with running a tactical analysis on their landing zone. It was a hopefully shallow coastal waterway; surrounded by thick jungle and high sided cliffs. The site had been selected using early colonial surveys, and Erisa hoped like hell the data was still accurate. If it wasn’t they were in for a rough trip. As they roared in, Shepard took one look at the steep sides of the gullies that criss-crossed the island chain and knew they’d be restricted to the channel once they touched down; there were no possible slopes that the Mako could hope to negotiate if it tried climbing out of the waterway. She was pulled out of her analysis by the beeping of the Mako’s altimeter and turned her attention back to the controls in front of her.

Firing the Mako's thrusters in one long burn, she decelerated their fall to a safe landing velocity then pulsed the jets a couple of times, manoeuvring the Mako into a better landing vector, splashing down into the channel and pulling to a stop smoothly. "Huh,” she remarked with a smirk, “I must be getting the hang of driving this thing. Okay, give me a systems check. Williams, you’re on the .50 and monitoring the ECO systems once we get the jamming down. Garrus, you’ve got the 40mm.”

“Aye ma’am,” Ash nodded professionally and powered up the secondary weapons system before running an initial diagnostic on the ECO systems. “All systems reading in the green except for radar and comms, ma’am.” Erisa nodded, "Thank you, Chief. Vakarian?"

Garrus’ dry voice came through the comms. "Roger that, commander. Primary weapons system in the green." Shepard nodded, “Let’s do it to it.” With that, she throttled up on the Mako’s engines and started up the very shallow channel toward the first AA tower.

As they came around the first corner, Shepard’s survival instincts warned her just before the onboard computers did and she slammed her foot to the floor, yanking on the emergency brake and slewing the wheel to the right; spinning the Mako out of the path of enemy fire. With one eye on the PDS panel, Ashley quickly called the play. "Sierras at one o’clock! Missiles inbound!” The air between the Mako and the geth drones filled with a metal rain as Ash sprayed the incoming projectiles with the big .50, hitting and detonating several missiles early. Only two made it past the enfilade to impact on the Mako’s barriers with little effect. Shepard slammed the Mako into top gear and the APC lurched forward, bobbing and weaving its way up the channel whilst Garrus did his best to target and destroy anything he saw; scary as it was, he thought maybe he was actually starting to get used to her driving and was doing much better at aiming the big gun. They were progressing fairly well, when suddenly a Geth Juggernaut loomed out from behind a rock, way too close to the Mako for Garrus to have time to swivel the 40mm cannon. Shepard reacted without thinking, planting the accelerator almost through the floor even as she realigned the mass effect field generators to artificially quadruple the Mako’s tonnage. The Mako surged forward, slamming into the Geth with all the force of a half dozen disruptor torpedoes. The Mako’s barriers flared wildly and inside the cabin, degradation warnings lit up the ECO’s damage control panel like a Christmas tree. Not that it mattered; the enormous impact had literally overwhelmed the geth’s shields before fragmenting the Juggernaut into so much scrap metal. The wholly unexpected and rapid changes in both direction and mass effect field orientation, left the whole crew rattled and briefly disoriented. Garrus’ voice filtered through their helmet mikes, so dry it could have been a martini. "Shepard... perhaps next time you might consider a little warning?”

Shepard sniffed and gave a non-committal shrug as she set the Mako’s mass effect generators back to default, "I suppose I _could_ do that, but how’s that fun, Vakarian?” She heard him snort over the comm channel and Ashley rolled her eyes as she engaged the field generators to recharge the Mako’s barriers. “Then at least think about not being so hard on this poor old M35 ma’am... unless you don’t mind walking to the STG camp.” Shepard grunted, having to concede that Ashley had a point. Makos weren’t designed to be used as twenty ton missiles. Shifting into gear, they continued on up the channel, repeating the same tactics until they approached the first AA gun and accompanying gate house.

The Mako eventually ground to a halt behind some rocks a half klick from the gate house and the team dismounted. It was time to get a good look at the calibre of troops defending the AA positions. Dropping out of the Mako’s hatch, Shepard and Garrus took up positions behind two of the bigger rocks and levelled their Vipers, using the inbuilt and upgraded scopes to survey the gatehouse and what was waiting for them. “I read... four aerial drones and... six troopers outside the gatehouse. Three snipers on the causeway. Confirm.” She waited for Garrus to complete his own pass and she nodded when he answered.

“Confirmed, Commander. Wait...” he drawled slowly, tapping Shepard on the back of her helmet. “One o’clock, rear of the causeway.” Shepard steadied her rifle and sighted in on his coordinates. “Fuck,” she swore as a larger command unit crossed through her reticule, “Destroyer, right?”

“Affirmative. Big sonovabitch too.” Erisa could only nod and she pulled back into cover again, taking a beat to formulate a plan of attack. “Okay, here it is people. Ash, I want you in the Mako...” Ashley felt a momentary pang of annoyance at being shoved back into the Mako for the attack, almost like Erisa didn’t trust her not to get hurt, but she was soon snapped back to reality when Shepard smacked the side of her helmet, the irritation on the commander’s face plain, as if she knew what Ash had been thinking. “Head in the game, Williams!  I need you on the main gun dropping 40mm air burst disruptor shells right in the middle of those drones and troopers, take ‘em down fast. Garrus, you’ll advance behind the Mako, use it as cover then once you’re close enough drop their snipers. That should bring the Destroyer out to play. I’ll take care of him.”

“Uh, you mind if I ask how, Commander? Even with disruptor rounds then AP steel jackets your Viper won’t put much of a dent in that thing.” Said Garrus, curious as to her end game. He’d fought beside Shepard often enough by now to know she never left anything to chance; always planning ahead.

For her part, Shepard grinned viciously and opened up one of the Mako’s exterior cargo hatches before pulling out a truly massive gun. “I came prepared.” It was an M98 ‘Widow’ heavy anti-materiel rifle mostly used by countersnipers and combat squads that needed the firepower to punch through the toughened hulls of armoured vehicles. Infiltrators like Shepard colloquially referred to it simply as the Hammer, a play on its acronym of HAMR. “I’ll lay up here in cover. This baby’s way too heavy to move with but she’s more than got the range and stopping power to drop that Destroyer in one shot. I just need you two to get it to come out to play.” Neither Ash nor Garrus could help grinning at the plan and Shepard smirked. “Now get moving! I’ll be waiting to take the shot then I’ll catch up to you at the gatehouse and we’ll blow the AA gun’s genny.”

Alpha squad sprang into action; Ash climbed back onboard the Mako and loaded up the 40mm with the specified shells before reversing the APC out of cover and driving it slowly up the channel towards the gatehouse. Garrus followed behind her on foot, his Viper already primed with AP rounds as they left Shepard to set up the Widow for her shot at the geth command unit. Once she was in range, Ash climbed up into the gunner’s chair, ignoring the impact warnings from the Mako’s barrier systems as long range rockets and sniper shots started to rock the vehicle. Taking a sighting, she depressed the trigger then reloaded, firing again as soon as the cannon’s mass accelerator was clear to. Out the front of the gatehouse, the gathered drones and troopers manoeuvred for cover, only to get caught short as the incoming shells exploded in midair, throwing out giant arcs of disruptor energy that overloaded barriers and fried synthetic circuitry. The front ranks were down. Garrus stepped up to the plate next, taking careful aim from the rear of the Mako and casually dropping the snipers that were too busy pouring fire into the Mako to register the newest threat. One by one he called out his kills as they dropped, headshots destroying head sensors and main CPUs. “Scratch one... two... and clear.”

Back at the rocky outcropping, Shepard lay in wait. Her tactical cloak kept her from being detected and she waited patiently, watching the snipers dropping back down behind the upper causeway, never to rise again as Garrus neatly pinned each one. “C’mon you big bastard,” she muttered quietly to herself, pulling the stock of the Widow hard into her shoulder and leaning into the heavy rifle with all of her body weight. Finally, the Destroyer came out of hiding, moving to launch a volley of mini rockets at Garrus’ nest behind the Mako. At the same time, she zeroed in on its chest, targeting the synthetic’s power cells. Releasing a slow breath, she squeezed the trigger. The channel echoed to an almighty _crack_ as the M98 fired, and Shepard felt it’s recoil ripple through the length of her prone body as she watched her target through her scope, seeing the hyper velocity round of the Widow rifle punch clean through its shields then shear right through its armour plating to blast apart its power core, the heavy round exiting the back of the synthetic and continuing on into a cliff face. “Gotcha.”

Standing, she collapsed the heavy AMR into its transport pod and stood, shouldering the weapon and taking off towards the gatehouse at a jog. By the time she got there Ashley and Garrus had already cleared out the remaining troopers with a clinically precise room sweep and Erisa nodded in approval as she mounted the stairs. “Good work.” Reaching to her waist, she pulled free a satchel charge and threw it to Ashley as she approached one of the terminals. “Go nuts, Chief. I want this gun’s power systems deactivated permanently.” Ash nodded, grinning a little as she moved to place the charge at the base of the gun’s generator. Shepard tapped a few keys on her omnitool and launched an ICE spike into the geth control system that governed the gates below them and after a minute they heard the door’s mechanisms whir to life. After that it wasn't long before her radio chirped in her ear. It was Joker. "Good work, Commander. Just one left and I’ll have a clean vector into the base." Shepard completed Garrus’ high five as they climbed back into the Mako, a muffled explosion echoing above them in the gatehouse. “Nice shot, commander.”

Shepard smiled wryly. “It wasn’t bad, was it?” Continuing along the channel, they passed beneath the gatehouse and out into a much broader area of low lying waters, filled with yet more geth troops. Further down the path, past a few Troopers and Rocket Troopers, along with an occasional drone, they rolled around a corner and ran up against a Colossus. Garrus fired the cannon as Shepard slammed into reverse and backed behind the cliff shielding the turn. She then rolled the Mako forward, edging out of cover just enough to give the 40mm cannon a clear shot, pausing intermittently with a warning to Garrus to let him know how to best time his shots. The Colossus stood relatively still, making it easy for Garrus to keep the cannon on target, and Shepard's move and fire tactics were timed simply to dodge anything the Geth shot their way. A number of well placed cannon shots later and the Colossus was down, with hardly any damage to the Mako's shields. “For synthetic life forms, those big ones don’t learn very well do they,” Garrus said in his by now familiar dry and sarcastic tone. Repeating the same tactics, they moved slowly and methodically forward, until they finally approached the second and final gatehouse. They used the exact same tactics as before; parking up out of range and scouting the gatehouse before sending in the Mako. This time, without spying a command unit, Erisa joined Garrus in walking behind the Mako. As with last time, the amassed troopers and drones were cleanly dispatched with air burst disruptors before both Normandy snipers picked off their geth counterparts. Unlike last time, now they ran into the light, dextrous Hoppers, fast and hard to target. After a few near misses with her Viper, Shepard changed tactics. “Garrus, suppressing fire. We’ll force them into cover at the mouth to the gatehouse ramp. Ash, that’s when you drop a round on them. Use a Firestorm shell; let’s see the slippery bastards dodge that.”

Switching tactics, Alpha squad did exactly as planned, rapid, continuous fire from Garrus’ Tsunami and Shepard’s Tempest herded the ‘Hoppers’ into position and Ashley fired a single 40mm thermobaric shell at the top of the ramp. A huge pressure wave rocked the Mako and the two snipers crouched behind a heavy all terrain tyre each as the detonating shell engulfed the geth, and most of the staircase, in a literal firestorm that left even the worked stone of the gatehouse scored and charred. Once the inferno had cleared, Shepard stood up and stepped out of cover, holstering her Tempest and taking a deep breath. “God damn! I love the smell of napalm in the morning. Smells like... _victory_.” Garrus stood there, looking at the commander in confusion, but Ash groaned audibly through the comm channel. “Did... did you just quote an old earth movie?” Shepard just shrugged. “Maybe.” Ashley climbed out of the Mako to join her squad mates, her eyes sparkling with laughter and a grin on her lips as she shook her head at Shepard. “God you’re such a dork ‘Risa.”

“What,” Erisa said defensively, “It’s a classic.” Moving up into the gatehouse proper, Shepard jumped on the terminals inside and quickly had the gate open; the last AA gun blocking their path to the STG base was down shortly after. As they exited the building to return to the Mako, the Normandy flew low and slow over their head, in transit to the forward operating base. "Thanks, Commander! See you at the landing zone!" Shepard just waved it on and nodded.

Driving the Mako up to the camp, Shepard saw the Normandy had already lowered the loading ramp and Bravo squad was disembarking. Climbing out of the Mako, she could see that Kaidan was already speaking with a Salarian captain, so Shepard tapped Williams on the shoulder and the two women went to find out what was happening. As she walked up, the Salarian welcomed her. "Commander Shepard, Captain Kirrahe, 3rd Infiltration Regiment, Special Tactics Group. It's a pleasure. I assume you are the lead unit for the reinforcements we requested?"

Shepard took his statement in stride. Obviously communications between Virmire and the Council had been subject to the same signal jamming the Normandy had detected on entering orbit. Once again the Council had sent her out here with only a fraction of the intel they’d actually possessed. Their obstinate recalcitrance was being to really piss her off. She was used to being screwed; but just once she’d like some input on who was fucking her. "If you’re waiting on reinforcements then I’ve got bad news Captain. We’re it. Your distress signal was garbled so the Council dispatched me to investigate; there were concerns this place might have some connection to Saren Arterius."

Kirrahe was about as pleased at that news as Shepard would expect from a soldier who’d been under sustained attack for a period of time. It was a feeling she could both empathise and sympathise with all too well. "You must be joking. That is a repetition of our task, and gains us nothing. I've lost half my men 'investigating' this place. I asked for a fleet and they send me one frigate. No offence intended, Commander. I’m sure your people are capable, but one squad isn’t going to make any difference here.” Erisa felt for him, but she had her own directives to fulfil. “None taken, but don’t be so sure about that, Captain. My boys, and girls, are a lot tougher than you’d think. As per my orders from the Council my entire crew is at your disposal but if I might ask, what exactly have you lost half your men investigating?”

Kirrahe gestured around him, giving her the impression he meant everything. “All of it, commander, this entire planet. We were originally tracking geth movements, which led us here. It turned out ‘here’ is a major base of operations for Saren, a heavily fortified research facility garrisoned by a full legion of Geth."

Shepard paused; analyzing and scrutinizing Kirrahe’s face for any sign of exaggeration or embellishment but found none. She hadn’t expected to, Salarians were notorious sticklers for precision, but his revelation had been so unexpected she’d had to make sure of his veracity. "A full legion is... more than I was expecting to find here. I think you’re right, Captain. The Council should have sent a Fleet.” Shaking off the momentary doubt that facing such mammoth odds had inspired, she gave the Salarian a forced smile. “But instead you’ve got me, so let’s work with what we’ve got and not dwell on what we want, right? We’re professional soldiers, we should be used to getting screwed. Now, you have any intel on what Saren’s protecting?"

Kirrahe responded in a like manner, faking the smile for the sake of appearances. “As you say, Commander. We are soldiers, after all.” His smile faded to deadly serious as he returned to business. "Apparently, Saren is breeding a Krogan army. It _must_ be destroyed."

Wrex overheard the conversation and shouldered his way in, eyes burning with curiosity. "How’s that possible? There’s no known cure.”

The salarian captain frowned. “Apparently he has developed a cure to the genophage. As I said, he must be stopped, at any cost. That includes destroying all his research.”

That didn’t sit well with Wrex. “Destroyed? I don’t think so. My people are dying, this cure can save them!"

Kirrahe refused to back down from his assessment. “Unacceptable, commander. When my people first uplifted the Krogan to defeat the Rachni, it ultimately led to the Krogan Rebellions. If that cure leaves the planet the Krogan will become unstoppable, a mistake the galaxy cannot afford to repeat.”  Wrex roared at Kirrahe, "We are not a mistake!" before fixing Shepard with an angry glare and stalking away up the shoreline.

Kirrahe looked worriedly at Shepard. "Is he going to be a problem? We have more than enough angry krogan to deal with without adding a Battlemaster to the list."

Shepard watched the huge Battlemaster stand at the shore, blasting away at the bottom feeders in the sand with that terrifyingly nasty shotgun he always carried. There was definitely a problem brewing right there, and it was one she’d need to deal with immediately. In much the same way as you didn’t leave a sore to fester; you definitely didn’t leave an angry krogan to stew. Both situations usually resulted in decidedly ugly outcomes. “You worry about how we deal with Saren’s little island fortress and his army of geth, Captain. I’ll worry about my crew." The salarian captain seemed to accept that and gave the commander a polite nod before he moved off to speak with a pair of freshly returned scouts, no doubt bringing the latest details on troop movements amongst Saren’s forces.

Left with her two senior field crew, she let out a slight sigh. Before could say anything though, Ashley chipped in, all business as she did her best to hold to their agreement. "Commander, I'm worried about Wrex... I mean, look at him! He's really pissed off." Kaidan angrily retorted, "You'd be pissed off too, if you saw a way to save all of humanity and someone said they wanted it destroyed!"

Shepard watched the two briefly, as they discussed Wrex's behaviour, until finally cutting them off with a voice like a cold snap. "Can it, marines! I'm going to have to go talk to Wrex, see if we can’t come to some... understanding. I'd be pissed too, but now is not the time. We have a mission and we’re going to complete it. Hopefully Wrex can see past this..."  She didn’t want to consider the implications if he couldn’t. Ashley started to interrupt, but Shepard gave her a glare that cut the Chief’s legs out from under her. "Williams, I. Will. Handle. It. Just... be ready if things go sideways. Alenko, comm. Garrus and tell him it’s time. He’ll know what that means."

She gave them both a stern look and headed across the sand toward the sound of a bellowing shotgun. Before following a few paces behind the commander, Ashley whispered under her breath, "He hurts you; I’m killing his krogan ass, ‘Risa." Shepard had to hide a small smile at her friend’s sentiment.

As she got close to where the big krogan was working off his frustrations, Wrex wheeled on her; a fire burning in his red, reptilian eyes. "This isn’t right Shepard. If there’s a cure for the genophage, we can’t destroy it.”

Erisa raised her hands to show she wasn’t armed and tried to stay as calm as possible in the face of Wrex’s frustrations. The last thing she needed was to set him off. “Easy Wrex, I’m not the enemy here, and you know it. Saren is.”

“Really? Saren’s got a cure for my people, you want to destroy it. To condemn my species to extinction. Help me out here, Shepard. The lines between friend and foe are starting to look a little blurry from where I’m standing." He did not look in the least bit pleased by the unexpected developments. Shepard had to figure out a way to talk him down, she knew she was no match for him in a toe-to-toe fight. As tough and ornery as the commander’s experiences had made her, she was no match for even a youngish Krogan, not in this close. And Wrex was far from young, with his seven foot six, two thousand pound frame, naturally thick hide and armour, an arsenal of battle tested weapons, biotics and hundreds of years of battle experience; the huge krogan was a fearsome foe. But over the course of all the missions they’d worked together, and in all the talks they’d shared onboard the Normandy, Shepard had spotted a pattern and she knew he had one weakness. He didn’t plan. That was her only way out of this should things go bad. As tough as Wrex was, those same facts that made him so formidable an enemy also made him one hell of an ally, and someone Erisa was starting to consider a friend. And she had precious few of those. She didn’t want to have to kill one.

With all things taken into consideration, it looked like suicide when Shepard stepped up and looked Wrex square in the face. "I know it must sound tempting as hell Wrex, but that isn’t a cure in there, it’s a weapon. And if we let Saren use it then your people won’t be around to benefit from it. None of us will! Those... things he’s breeding in there? They’re not Krogan.” Wrex growled deep in his throat and his fingers tightened around the grips on his shotgun, but Erisa pushed on, undaunted. She’d stared death in the face before; and a far worse one than Wrex might offer. “I know that,” she continued, in a matter of fact voice, “because I’m looking at a _real_ krogan right now. Those... things Saren’s been churning out might look krogan and smell krogan, but they’ll only ever be Saren’s puppets. A horde of shock troops to run blindly at the guns of Saren’s enemies. They know nothing of honour, or respect, or the bonds of brotherhood forged in the fires of war... they don’t have the faintest concept of what it means to truly be _Krogan_. All they know is obedience. Is that what you really want for the future of your people, Wrex? To become slaves when their birthright is that of heroes?"

Wrex was still scowling, but when he stowed his shotgun she knew she’d made a dent in his rage. "You've got a quad on you, coming over here without even a weapon drawn. If you were anybody else Shepard, you'd already be dead."

Shepard gave the huge Battlemaster a wry smile and shook her head. “No. No, I wouldn’t be Wrex. You should know me better than that by now.” His brutish, scarred face twisted in suspicion and Shepard looked down at his chest slowly, letting him follow the motion until he saw the hovering red dot that rested unwavering on his chest plate. “That laser sight’s connected to an M98, Wrex. As big and powerful as you are, a Widow will still put you on your ass; at least long enough for me to finish you.” The big krogan stared at her flatly and the moment balanced on a knife’s edge. Erisa didn’t even dare breathe until Wrex brushed at the laser dot and started to smirk; the smirk breaking into a grin and then a dry chuckle. “I’m gonna guess Garrus is attached to the other end of that rifle too? You never do leave anything to chance, do you Shepard?” She shook her head again, feeling comfortable enough to add a friendly smile. “No sir, no I do not. Nor do I take the easy way out.”

Wrex nodded in understanding. "No, you’re a real soldier,” he said, his normally monotone voice still bordering on a mix of pride and accusation. “You’ll do whatever it takes to get the mission done, no regrets, no apologies, and you’ll wear the consequences no matter what.” He snorted and drew himself up. “Hell, that’s more than I can say for most krogan, these days.”  Shepard drew herself up to her full height. “I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn’t have to, big guy. But I promise you this, you help me here and now, you follow my lead, and when this is done, I'll do everything in my power to help you find a real cure for your people. The Krogan were the galaxy’s saviours once, and they’ve forgotten that. I think everyone has, your own people included. They’re all too comfortable with seeing you, or being seen, as brutes and thugs. You want to know what I see, Wrex? I see a proud and honourable people who’ve paid for the sins of the past for long enough."

Wrex grunted in agreement, his scarred features creasing as he found himself having to reassess the commander. He knew she could fight, but he hadn’t thought to find this... fire of command inside her. Perhaps it was his own fault for presuming on her humanity. "Fine. The Krogan have been puppets for too long. We were tools for the Council once and to repay us for destroying the Rachni they neutered us all. I doubt Saren will be as generous. He’ll pay for what he’s done..." Wrex's eyes bore into Shepard as he spoke. "...and I'm going to hold you to that promise." Shepard kept eye contact with Wrex for a few moments, then nodded once before she turned and walked back the way she’d come.

Ash was surprised at the outcome, and understandably relieved. She didn’t know what she’d have done if Wrex had gone wild and hurt Shepard, but she knew it would have been something violent and, probably suicidal. Just because they’d agreed to put aside their feelings for each other until a better, or at least more appropriate, time didn’t mean she’d stopped feeling. She still worried whenever Erisa put herself in danger, just like she knew Shepard worried about her. "Wow... never thought you'd actually talk him down, ma’am. If you’d asked me I’d have said nothing was going to get Wrex to let go of a cure to the Genophage.”

Shepard gave Ashley a gentle smirk. “You know, I do have talents other than shooting people, Ash.”  She lapsed into verse, her soft accent giving the ancient words a curious emphasis.

“Music hath Charms to sooth a savage Breast,

To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak.

I've read, that things inanimate have mov'd, and, as with living Souls,

Have been inform'd, by Magic Numbers and persuasive Sound.

What then am I?

Am I more senseless grown than Trees, or Flint?

O force of constant Woe!

‘Tis not in Harmony to calm my Griefs.

Anselmo sleeps, and is at Peace; last Night the silent Tomb receiv'd the good Old King;

He and his Sorrows now are safely lodg'd within its cold, but hospitable Bosom.

Why am not I at Peace?”

Ashley smirked and shook her head. “Congreve’s ‘The Mourning Bride.’ You telling me you sang Wrex down?”

Shepard had to choke back a laugh and settled for a soft snort. “No, you moron. But I did appeal to his better nature. And yes, before you act all surprised, he _does_ have one. Wrex isn’t like any other krogan we’ve met, Ash. He actually cares about the future of his people and what the Genophage has done to them. I just had to remind him of what that future would be if he relied on Saren for a cure. Better the krogan die as free men and women than live as slaves ‘neath the booted heel of a tyrant who would be king.”

“Careful,” Ash warned, a flush reaching her cheeks underneath her helmet. “Your poetic side is showing again, and you know what that does to me...” Erisa had to cough to cover her sudden embarrassment as she realised all too easily what Ash was saying. “Damn. Sorry Chief. Guess I’ll have to watch my tongue around you.” Her face felt rather hot and she bit her cheek as she realised what _that_ must have sounded like. Glancing at Ashley, she saw the Chief was doing her best not to laugh, even if she’d turned a little red herself. “Aw crap, you know what I meant!” Ashley nodded and gave Shepard a brief salute, still grinning. “Aye aye ma’am. I think I’ll go see if I can’t find something more... productive to do, shall I?” Shepard returned the salute and nodded. “You do that, Williams.”

As Ashley left, Shepard forced herself not to watch, instead looking up at the Normandy. She was just in time to see Tali come down the loading ramp in full field gear. Jogging over to meet her, Shepard got what she thought looked like a smile through the hazy glass of the little quarian’s faceplate, and she smiled in return. “Aren’t you supposed to be off the active duty roster for another two days, Miss nar Rayya?”

Tali looked around a little guiltily then nodded. “I had to sneak past medbay to get to my locker in the armoury.” Her usually light, jovial tone suddenly turned steely. “but don’t you dare send me back there Shepard. I’m better, really I am, and sitting onboard the Normandy whilst the rest of you are out here risking your lives is driving me crazy. I need to help. Please?” Her last word was almost pleading and Erisa faltered at the little hitch Tali had probably snuck into her voice on purpose. “Okay, fine. But you’re confined to a support role only. I don’t need Chakwas chewing me out if you get injured again. Stick to hacking and decryption tasks and _stay_ beside Wrex. He’ll keep you safe. I mean that Tali,” she said sternly, “you stick to him like a bad smell to a Vorcha.” The little quarian machinist nodded excitedly and even saluted. “I will, I promise. Thank you Shepard!”

Erisa shook her head good naturedly. “Go on, get out of here. Wrex is on the shore near the communications tent, I think you’re probably exactly who he needs to see right now.” She didn’t elaborate, just returned the salute and dismissed the quarian, watching as Tali ran off.

Shepard didn’t let it show, but she really was fond of the little quarian; though she’d never had any siblings, it sometimes felt like Tali was the younger sister her parents had always intended to have. When she’d first come aboard the Normandy, she’d been incredibly shy. They’d her found a comfortable spot for down on the engineering deck, near the engines she was so absolutely fascinated by. Engineer Adams was thrilled to death to have her down there, stating her engineering skills far surpassed anyone on the crew. That hadn’t surprised Shepard much,  and after her own discussions with Tali she’d learnt a lot about the quarians and their culture, especially what life was like aboard the Migrant Fleet. Not a great deal was known about the Quarians, other than they were a migrant race. Most humans seemed comfortable comparing them to the Gypsies of old Earth; with the same lack of trust. That though was a species wide problem, and Shepard could see why that mistrust existed. The Quarians had, after all, flouted the Council’s ban on research into artificial intelligence when they’d created the Geth over three hundred years ago, but to her own mind, the quarians had more than paid for that mistake. The Geth had rebelled, driving them off of their home planet of Rannoch and forcing the surviving refugees to become a transient race.

Centuries of life aboard the sterile environs of their ships had weakened their immune systems to the point they were forced to live in their envirosuits constantly. It didn't help that most had darkened faceplates, so it was hard to tell what the Quarian people actually looked like, much less see their faces and read their expressions. Ordinary people tended to mistrust an entire race who always hid behind a mask. But Shepard knew to look past the stereotype and had found it to be completely false and unwarranted; Tali had never given her any reason to doubt her honesty or loyalty, and Shepard considered her a fine addition to the crew with her engineering and tech skills.

Between the conversations with Shepard and the encouragement of Engineer Adams, It hadn’t taken Tali long to start talking with other crew members. By now she’d developed strong onboard friendships, especially with the members of the field team, and most noticeably with Wrex. The big krogan had taken the little quarian under his wing and the pair could frequently be seen on the mess deck and wandering the armory, engaged in witty banter or swapping stories of their adventures before joining the Normandy. Shepard hoped Tali’s inclusion in whatever ground mission the salarians were planning would pull the big krogan out of his funk and give him something else to concentrate on. At the very least Shepard pitied whatever poor fool tried to hurt the little quarian machinist whilst Wrex was around.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she returned to the command tent the STG infiltration unit had set up and approached the young captain. "Kirrahe, do we have a plan yet?"

"Of sorts, Commander. Though I will admit it carries a higher degree of risk than I am usually comfortable with.” Shepard gave a dry smile. “High risk seems to be about all I’ve done lately, what’s one more to add to the list of impossible feats?” The salarian looked puzzled for a second, and then nodded as understanding reached him. “Ah, human bravado. Not unfamiliar with it, the turians possess a similar response to high stress situations.” Erisa just smiled faintly and signalled for him to continue. "We can convert our ship's drive system into a twenty kiloton ordnance. Crude, but effective. Unfortunately the facility is too heavily fortified to allow effective deployment from orbit. The device will have to be placed in the correct location; only then will it successfully destroy the entire breeding facility." Pointing to a map, Kirrahe indicated a small courtyard in the centre of the compound. "We can use the Normandy to deliver it to the site, but unfortunately, that means we have to disable this AA tower and penetrate all the way to the centre of the facility.”

Shepard looked warily at the map, tracing the route with a gloved finger before tapping the map idly as she thought. "Getting in that deep with enough firepower to protect the device during deployment could be a problem. What's the rest of your plan?"

Using the map as a guide, Kirrahe explained. "Three teams, one to go through here and take down the AA gun. The other two will commit to a two-prong attack on the front of the facility. We don't have a chance, but we don't really need one. The frontal assault is just a diversion, and only needs to hold long enough for my team to take down the gun, and your shadow team to sneak in through these warehouses at the rear of the complex. Your objective will be to take control of and secure the central courtyard. Once we achieve those two objectives, the Normandy can deliver the device. We set it, start the timer, and bug out. Hopefully we can reach escape distance in time. We will need four minutes; we will set the timer for five. Little room for error. The bomb will also have a failsafe; anyone attempts to tamper with the arming trigger, the device will detonate immediately."

Shepard was in her element again and she studied the map closely, running through differing scenarios and alternate routes with a practiced eye, drawing on her experience to identify choke points and ambush prone areas where her shadow team could get fubar. At last she drew a long slow breath. "You're right, it’s risky but not impossible.” Tapping the map at three different points, she outlined her preferred infiltration. “My squad will take a slightly longer route, this way. Your men will be exposed for longer but by taking this alternate route my team will pass by this communications hub, the satellite uplink station, and this drone refuelling station. We eliminate those three targets and it will ease the pressure on the teams making the frontal assault, might just keep them alive a little longer.” Saving lives wasn’t a big concern at this point; they were all professional soldiers here and knew a successful mission outcome was not just necessary, but in this case essential. If they had to sacrifice one, or more, of the squads to accomplish that, then so be it. “It won't add much travel time for Shadow and should put a big dent in the Geth’s overall defence. One last thing. I don't like the failsafe, but I can see the need for it. We’re dealing with Geth; we can’t chance them deactivating the device after we’re gone. As good as your engineers might be, my money’s on the Geth to crack a program faster than any organic. Everything else looks good to me."

Kirrahe considered the changes. "Agreed, Commander. Excellent recommendations. Nice to work with someone with a good grasp of strategy, as well as battlefield tactics.” Shepard nodded briefly. “I’m an infiltrator, Captain. Strategy and tactics are what we excel at... that and long range killing. Believe me, if that nuke was any smaller and just a little more portable I’d be leading a three man infiltration team in instead. Hate to see good soldiers thrown away on these kinds of frontal assaults when there’s another way.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, today there’s not.”

Kirrahe nodded in agreement. “One more thing commander; to ensure we have both objectives met before we call the Normandy in, I would like to have one of your personnel on my AA gun team, to ensure good communications between us."

Shepard was considering the request when she heard Kaidan behind her. "It's a solid recommendation, Commander. I volunteer."

The suggestion was immediately vetoed by Ashley. "No way, LT. The commander needs you on the nuke! I'll take the AA team."

Shepard looked back at both of them from over her shoulder. "Lieutenant Alenko, Gunnery Chief Williams! What are the individual insignias of your respective ranks?” She didn’t give them time to guess where she was going and barked out an order. “On the double, Marines! Rank and insignia!” Both Kaidan and Ashley reacted to the command with the discipline ingrained in them by the Corps and yelled back in unison. “Ma’am, Marine Staff Lieutenant, two gold bars; Marine Gunnery Chief three-bar, two-rocker Chevron Ma’am!” Shepard gave Kirrahe a wink with the eye still hidden from her marines’ view.

“Correct, marines! Does either of those insignias outrank the gold oak leaf of a Marine Corps Lieutenant Commander?”  Shepard had to work hard not to grin at their despondent response. “No Ma’am, they do not.”

Taking pity on her two subordinates, she turned to look at them with a smug grin. “Then why the hell are you two arguing over who goes where when you both know it’s my call to make?” She shook her head at them both one last time before turning back to Kirrahe. "Captain, you have a preference?"

Kirrahe responded quickly. "They are your team, Commander. I don't believe you would have anyone here who was not capable. Your choice. I will accept either one."

She briefly considered her options. "Alenko! You’re on the Normandy. You’ve got the technical chops to babysit then arm the nuke. Chief, you’re with the Captain here. The rest of my team is with me on Shadow." As much as she desperately wanted to tell the salarian to look after her, Shepard knew she absolutely couldn’t be seen showing that kind of concern, even favouritism, towards Ashley.

Shepard had Joker ping the field team’s omnitools and rounded them up at the command tent for a briefing, showing them the map and their objectives. “We’ll be running this one a little different from our normal battle tactics, Shadow squad. This is an infiltration; that means we move quick, quiet and we take down our targets _silently_.” Wrex already looked disappointed, but she gave him a soft smirk. “We will have to fight our way in at some point big guy, but I want us penetrating as deep into the combat zone as we can before we have to switch to live firing and reveal our presence. That means I want you all reporting to the armoury as soon as this briefing ends to outfit your standard armour with M-11 Ghost suits.” That got a nod from Garrus and unsure looks from the rest of them, so she had to elaborate. _What I wouldn’t give for a handful of N7 Operatives right now,_ she thought. “For those of you not familiar with them, the M-11’s are ultralight fabric suits designed to fit over most standard armours, they utilise photoprojection tech to distort light around your hard suit and field dampeners to hide your EM silhouettes. Now, they run off of the same barrier packs that power kinetic barriers, so when you’re cloaked you’re without shielding; bear that in mind. They also can’t do much for noise, so I want complete sound discipline until we shift from an infiltration to combat ops. STG intelligence says to expect both Geth and Krogan hostiles, so load up on both disruptor and inferno munitions, including SFGs and EM grenades as well as fusion and tox. Garrus, you’ll need a suppressor for that Viper. Liara, Wrex, hang back and limit yourselves to Lifts and Stasis fields until we hit serious resistance, NO warp detonations unless ordered; we need to be ghosts on this one. Tali, I hope you’re bringing your A game, we’ll need overloads, hacks and sabotage fields. We clear?” The entire squad nodded. “Good, now dismissed. Head back to the Normandy and gear up.”

Watching her Shadow squad fall out, she turned her focus to Kaidan and Ashley. "I’d tell you to keep your heads in the game but we’ve been doing this long enough that neither of you need my advice. You know your jobs, so do them well, watch your six and come home alive, you hear me? Kirrahe’s squads are just the distraction so no heroics, just keep the Geth busy long enough for Shadow to get in and do its job. Remember that and we'll see you on the other side." It wasn’t directly obvious, but all three of the marines in that little huddle knew exactly who those words of caution were really meant for; it was all Erisa could really say without becoming both unprofessional and emotional. Detached, precise, and tactical were literally holding her together as she sent Ashley into what would be the thickest of the fighting; unable to even kiss her good luck. Forcing all that aside and burying it deep, she turned to the Captain. "Kirrahe. Give Shadow ten to re-equip and we’ll be ready when you are."

The Salarian captain nodded. “Very well, commander. If you’ll excuse me, it’s time I addressed my men.” Erisa watched as the brave survivors of the 3rd Infiltration Regiment fell in, most of them knowing they stood little chance of surviving the mission they were being asked to finish.  It made her realise anew that it didn’t matter what species you were, a soldier was born a soldier first; being human, turian or salarian came second. Bravery, courage and grit meant so much more than just DNA. As Captain Kirrahe addressed his men, she watched silently.

“You all know the mission and what is at stake. I have come to trust each of you with my life, but I have also heard murmurs of discontent. I share your concerns. We are trained for espionage. We would be legends, but the records are sealed. Glory in battle is not our way. Think of our heroes: the Silent Step, who defeated a nation with a single shot. Or the Ever Alert, who kept armies at bay with hidden facts. These giants do not seem to give us solace here, but they are not all that we are. Before the network, there was the fleet. Before  diplomacy, there were soldiers. Our influence stopped the Rachni, but before that, we _held the line_. Our influence stopped the krogan, but before that, we _held the line_! Our influence will stop Saren! In the battle today, we will _hold the line_!”

\-------------------------------------------

The teams split into their groups and headed out to their respective assignments. Erisa had organised her newly kitted out squad into two formations, the first set to take advantage of their skills and strengths during the infiltration, the second to maximise their firepower for when they eventually hit heavy resistance. For now, she and Garrus were on point; they were the most experienced with tactical cloaks so they scouted ahead. Wrex and Liara were next in the diamond pattern deployment, guarding the flanks and ready to use their biotics to slow down and even paralyse enemy troops so they could be dispatched silently. Tali’zorah was in rear guard, not just to protect her, but to give her the greatest vantage point during any engagement, letting her see where best to deploy Sabotage fields, which AI platforms to hack or to deliver Overloads to incoming reinforcements.  As Shepard's team approached the first intersection, she radioed Kirrahe, "Shadow squad in position, preparing to engage."

When they heard the first explosion that signalled the frontal assault had encountered resistance, they started to move invisibly through the first intersection and saw their first two Geth Troopers, walking a patrol route. Whispering into the helmet mic, she called a halt then designated the left trooper as Garrus’ target; she’d take the one on the right. Still cloaked, she set her omnitool to building a slow, steady power charge whilst she activated her nanoblade; the usually glowing construct of molecular carbon and force fields invisible beneath her armour’s photoprojector field. Stepping silently into place, she struck. With a savage thrust, she drove the nanoblade into the lower abdomen of the first trooper; slicing through its power relays before she pressed her left hand to the side of its flashlight head and released the gathered Overload through her omnitool.  The geth in her arms sparked and twitched before it finally started to smoke and she lowered it quietly onto the sand. Wrenching free her nanoblade, she dissolved the strands of energy that held the molecules of matter in their lattice and let the blade simply melt into nothingness. Garrus had done much the same, though instead of its power relays, he’d targeted the trooper’s main sensor, plunging his military issue Talon right through the central ‘eye’ before discharging his overload, lowering the disabled geth chassis to the ground when he was finished. Whispering into her mic again, she signalled them to move on.

Without any further troopers between them and their first objective, they closed the distance to the communications tower quickly. Shepard scouted the small installation through her scope and whispered on the comm, "We've got one normal and one Shock Trooper lower level, a Shock Trooper and Destroyer up on the platform.... and one sniper, top left." She studied them a moment to see if they patrolled at all, but the geth soldiers seemed to be assigned to static posts. “Garrus and I will move in first and disable the two beneath the platform. Tali, I want you to hack the sniper, but hold off on turning him until the lower level is cleared. Liara, the shock trooper is yours, Wrex gets the Destroyer. Move.”

Reinforcing their cloaks, she and Garrus sprinted on silent feet across the soft sand and closed the distance to the platform. Taking cover behind two of the supporting pillars, both infiltrators peeked about the corner and assessed their targets. Good, they hadn’t been spotted yet. Shepard took a moment to ease an SFG out of her combat harness and peeled off a strip covering an adhesive backing before she slapped it high up on the pillar above her and activated it. That should take care of any weapons. “Garrus, Tali... now.”  As the human commander and the turian renegade stepped out from behind their pillars and executed the same overload/knife combo on the lower two troopers, Tali hacked the sniper on the main platform, turning it towards the Destroyer. Her usually chirpy voice was more subdued as she whispered orders of her own to Wrex and Liara. “I’ve got the sniper, do it now, guys.” The huge krogan and the much smaller, athletic asari raced over the sands and once they were close enough to the ramp, Liara engaged her biotics and in a blue nimbus leapt straight up onto the elevated platform, coming down on the shock trooper with all her weight combined with a biotic push that smashed the synthetic platform into the concrete floor. Mag clamping a disruptor grenade onto its chassis, she rolled for cover. Seeing the shock trooper go down, Tali worked her omnitool and the Geth sniper suddenly charged the Destroyer, swinging its rifle like a club. That was more than enough of a distraction for Wrex, who pounded up the ramp and charged the largest geth platform from the rear, slamming the Destroyer bodily into one of the walls of the concrete structure. His jagged jak’tha blade sliced neatly through the thick external cable connecting the Destroyer’s main sensors to its body, effectively blinding it, before he grabbed the head in both hands and flexed his thick, ropy krogan muscles, wrenching left and right as he tore the entire head free of its chassis. The disruptor grenade detonated, blasting the shock trooper as it struggled to its feet, and the arcing energy took out the hacked sniper. The communications station was clear.

Shepard grinned to herself and whispered down her mic, "Good job Shadow squad, I’ll turn you into infiltrators yet. Now, let's get this tower off-line.” The team proceeded up the ramp and located the control console. "Tali, you're up. Patch us in to their communications then scramble the signals. I want to hear what they’re saying but make sure they can’t talk to one another. Clear?" The little quarian stepped up. "Consider it done, Shepard.” She quickly hacked the comm. console then scrambled the channels, making communications between geth and krogan units utterly impossible whilst giving the STG teams an edge; letting everyone hear what their enemy was saying.  Coordinated counter attacks were no longer a threat. “Ready!" she chirped. It didn't matter that Tali's face was hidden behind a mask; Shepard could hear the satisfied smile in her voice.

Clearing the communications tower, Shepard began to lead Shadow towards the satellite uplink. Taking out that would prevent any geth flyers from getting solid fixes on the salarian squads of Mannovai, Aegohr and Jaeto and would relieve some of the pressure on them. "Objective one is secure. Check your barrier packs and let’s move on.” Dropping back into formation, they continued up the path. Suddenly, two assault drones zipped around the corner and stopped, hovering in midair and scanning the area. Shepard guessed they’d been sent to investigate why the communications station had dropped out of contact. They couldn’t let the flyers escape to report back. “Tali, I need a jamming field STAT, Liara, Wrex, toss up a singularity/warp combo. I need those flyers in pieces, now.”

The unfortunate drones didn’t know what hit them. No sooner had the jamming field gone up and cut them off from their satellite data  than a brilliant bolt of blue streaked out of nowhere, briefly providing them with a silhouette of Liara to try and target. Sadly they didn’t get a chance to fire as the mass effect singularity pulled them in, throwing off their targeting vectors and before they could recalculate firing solutions, the field holding them detonated explosively, tossing both drones away. One drone careened into the rock face of the cliff, destroying it, and the other was pushed off the path to the side, dropping its shield. A crackling bolt of disruptor energy flew past Shepard and the drone dropped out of the sky like a rock, hit squarely by Tali’s overload. With the two flyers neatly disabled, Shadow quickly resumed their forward progress.

A bit farther on, both she and Garrus scoped the next target from afar. They would have to cross a large open space to reach the satellite uplink, without any cover to speak of, and the uplink was guarded by a Shock Trooper and a Krogan warrior, but Shepard smirked to herself. There was always more than one way to skin a cat. Shepard outlined their assault to the squad. "We won’t bother with the uplink’s console, no need when we can just take out the array instead. Tali, take Wrex and get close enough to target and overload the antenna array up there. That should put you close enough to deploy an SFG, big guy, take any weapons out of the equation. Garrus, that Trooper's all yours. I’ll switch out ammo and take the krogan. Liara, you move up with Tali and Wrex; be prepared to assist with the krogan if need be.” The squad all responded with confirmation of their targets and Shepard was about to give the go signal when Tali piped up with a suggestion. “Shepard, if I modify a spare barrier pack and sync it with my omnitool I might be able to get the Overload to chain. I could arc it to the Shock Trooper and collapse its shielding before Garrus takes his shot.” Shepard thought about it for a second then agreed. “You’ve got as long as it takes to get into position to make that work. Now go.” Tali started working on the ramped up overload as soon as they got moving and by the time they were all in position, she was ready. On Shepard's 'Go' call, she triggered the overload and the attack began. Less than a minute later, they were all standing on the ramp of the satellite tower, a smoking trooper chassis and an inferno riddled krogan corpse at their feet. At the top of the tower the satellite array smoked and sparked. Objective two complete. Shepard called for a quick inventory; they had been moving cloaked for some time now, so she had everyone change out barrier packs just to be safe. The last thing they needed was for a cloak to fail mid battle and leave one of them unshielded.

The team was on the move again, this time toward the refuelling platform. Checking her chrono, she could see they’d slipped behind schedule so she picked up the pace a little, risking their infiltration for the sake of speed. The diversionary forces would only last so long, and every second Shadow delayed meant more salarians were sacrificing their lives; that didn’t bother her so much, they were soldiers; it was what every one of them had signed on for the moment they’d put on the uniform. What did concern her was getting into position to deploy the nuke before the forces engaging Kirrahe’s men could be redeployed to block her own path. Looking around one more corner, she saw a ramp ahead. On the upper platform stood a Destroyer and a Rocket Trooper. A rather unorthodox solution came to mind; those rockets could either be a big problem, or would make short work of the two geth for them, provided she could get Tali into position quick enough.  "Liara, Tali, front and centre. We’ve got a Rocket Trooper and a Destroyer to handle here." Shepard pointed to a large section of rock. "Liara, I need you to get to that section of cover, it should put you close enough to hit the Destroyer with a powerful lift. That will keep it out of action long enough for me to get Tali close enough for what I’ve got in mind. The rest of you hunker down here and provide cover. We’ve still got geth flyers in play, last thing I need today is a rocket up my ass.” Getting affirmative nods from the rest of her squad, she cloaked again. “Go Liara, I’ll signal you when to throw your Lift. Tali, you’re with me.” The three of them slipped out of cover under cloak and as Liara made for her designated position, Shepard led Tali closer and closer to the two geth. “I need you to hack the rocket trooper as soon as Liara lifts the Destroyer. Then move it in as close as you can. I’ll handle the rest.” Once they were as close as she dared get, she signalled Liara and watched as the big command unit was dragged helplessly into the air. As soon as that happened, Tali worked her omnitool feverishly, taking control of the Rocket Trooper and walking it right up to the Destroyer. For her part, Shepard pulled free an SFG and twisted the device to ‘on’ before lobbing it at the pair, watching it roll to their feet. Lastly, she built up an Overload and targeted the Trooper’s rocket launcher. The plan worked brilliantly, though it was rather louder, and a little more explosive, than she’d anticipated. With the sabotage field preventing the rocket launchers thermal clip and heat venting from working, as soon as the overload hit it, the explosive warheads on the rockets chambered within rapidly breached and the launcher detonated loudly, the resultant explosion taking out both the trooper and the Destroyer. The fight was over almost instantly, though her unconventional tactics earned her a few good humoured smirks from both Wrex and Garrus, and a rather stunned “Wow...” from the little quarian.

They continued down the path toward the refuelling station, still moving cautiously, and when they peeked around the next corner, Shepard pulled back suddenly. They’d found it, and no less than five assault drones were currently hovering over the station, docking and refuelling before heading back to engage the salarian squads who were still getting hammered by the geth defences. Surprise was on their side and Shepard planned to make the most of it. She whispered her orders into her helmet mic, summoning both Garrus and Tali up to the front with her. “They’re refuelling, so don’t bother targeting the drones. We overload the tanks and blow them instead; that should take out the entire swarm. Wrex, Liara, be ready to pick off any who survive the initial blast.”  With final confirmations in, Shepard made sure they were all cloaked before the team snuck around the corner, and launched simultaneous overloads and warp attacks, causing the refuelling centre to explode. The pressure wave that hit them once the huge tanks blew was considerable, and without kinetic barriers, they all felt the accompanying heat wave a little too uncomfortably. But they had eliminated the entire flyer swarm and halted any further drone attack permanently, it was definitely a last nail in the coffin for any concerted geth defence of the facility. With no time to lose, Shepard quickly pushed the team forward.

Following the last walkway, they soon approached the rear defences and could see the facility ahead, but a long bridge separated them from the target, with two snipers and two Krogan warriors waiting on the distant end. Analyzing the defences, Shepard had Shadow pull back. “Close enough. Forget your cloaks. From now we stay combat ready. That means kinetic barriers at full and weapons out. There’s no stopping us now so the time to be subtle is over.” Wrex grinned happily and chuckled as he pulled out his shotgun, patting it fondly. “Hear that girl? You can come out to play now.” Erisa couldn’t help a grin at that and laid out her plan for their final approach. “The hardest part of this will be all those shields and barriers they’ve put in position, it’ll prevent us from employing a direct assault. Garrus and I will move first under cloak and find the optimal locations to shoot from. Once we’ve taken out the snipers you’ll only have to worry about the Krogan warriors. At that stage, just reinforce your barriers and get across that bridge _fast_. Engage them up close and overwhelm them. They’re separated by a good distance so you should be able to finish off the first before the second has manoeuvred into a good position to flank you. Garrus and I will be right behind you.”

Their final assault wasn’t exactly textbook, but it worked well enough. Once they’d found positions with unhindered line of sight on both snipers, Shepard and Garrus took their shots, disruptor rounds shorting out the geth snipers’ shields before hyper velocity AP rounds made short work of them for good; the stonework of the outermost walls giving the two Normandy snipers enough cover from their counterparts’ return volleys. Once they were down, Wrex took Shepard’s assault plan to heart and gave a hearty bellow before charging over the long bridge, tossing warps to keep the first krogan warrior off balance until he could close long enough to bring his shotgun to bear. Liara and Tali were a little more cautious; with the asari specialist catching the last krogan in a stasis field before the two alien women crossed the gap. Once over, they flanked the immobile krogan and took cover. Liara dropped the stasis field, letting Tali chip away at the krogan’s armour with her Scimitar shotgun  while Liara finished the krogan off with a singularity/warp combination that almost killed it. Two final shots rang out across the valley as Garrus and Shepard stopped halfway across the bridge and snapped off quick shots to finish off the two krogans; inferno rounds burning into them as they dropped, their regenerative capabilities overwhelmed by the chemical fire. The back door was clear at last, the facility open for entrance.


	14. Virmire Part II

Having finally reached their destination, Shepard redeployed Shadow to a combat formation, Wrex and Garrus up front, Liara and Tali in the middle as biotic and technical support, whilst she took the rear as over watch so she could snipe efficiently. With everything in order, fresh thermal clips loaded, new barrier packs in place and energy bars wolfed down by the squad’s biotics; Garrus and Wrex took positions at the side of the first doorway before Tali triggered the panel. The two point men swept out onto a long walkway above a stretch of water and called it clear, allowing the rest of the squad to follow them out to the rear doors to the facilities’ warehouses. Garrus found and opened a terminal.  "Shepard, we've got access to base security.” He deftly worked his way through the systems, his years of C-Sec experience with security programs coming in handy.  “We should be able to cut the alarms from here. I might even be able to trigger alarms on the far side of the base too. It'll clear out the guards for us but they might be too much for the salarian teams to handle.” Shepard shook her head. “Just disable the alarms on these doors. We’ll handle any guards inside ourselves. I don’t want to put any more pressure on Mannovai, Aegohr and Jaeto. They’ve already got enough to deal with.” Garrus’ fingers darted over the holokeys. "Done."  Shepard looked down the walkway at the three warehouse doors and split up her squad. “Wrex, Tali, middle door. Garrus, you and Liara enter here. I’ll take the far door. Move.” With orders given, they all proceeded to the warehouse without a word. 

On Shepard’s ‘go’, the three teams breached the warehouse doors at the same time, splitting the focus of the guards and workers inside. In true krogan fashion, Wrex simply blasted the door open and charged in, finding cover for Tali as he moved and calling out enemy numbers through his mic.  "I make my count two Destroyers, a Shock Trooper and a bunch of Salarians!"  Shepard was initially surprised, but Garrus clicked to it almost immediately; “Salarians? Right, the Captain said he's lost some men. These must be them.” A staccato ripple filled the air of the echoing warehouse as Kirrahe’s lost soldiers sprayed wildly with SMGs whilst the geth platform advanced more cautiously. Tali fired off an overload and took down the first Destroyer’s shields long enough for Wrex to blast it full of enormous holes from his Eviscerator. At the same time, Garrus and Liara advanced in through their entry point and engaged the second Destroyer, a powerful lift pulling it off the ground and leaving it helpless, a perfect target for Garrus who used his Tsunami to deadly effect, disruptors chewing through its shields followed by heavier tungsten slugs from Liara’s Carnifex that punched gaping holes in its chassis. Shepard had slipped in through the far door; her Viper secured on her back and Tempest in hand. The confines of the research facility would make effective use of her longarm difficult, better to go with the more compact weapon. She encountered the salarians first and couldn’t help but notice some odd behaviour for highly trained STG troops... they were unshielded and very lightly armoured, and they just ran into the open, shooting. Not what she expected from trained infiltrators at all. Still, it meant they were dispatched quickly enough.  All three groups moved further into the warehouse, converging in the middle where they encountered the Shock Trooper.  The platform spotted Shepard first and she had to throw herself into cover as her kinetic barriers flared underneath the impact of a sustained burst of assault rifle fire. Back behind cover, she checked her HUD for a damage report, but it was just her shields, the barrage of gunfire had chewed them down to almost 20% effectiveness, it would take a minute or two for the barrier generators in her suit to cycle them back to full strength. In the mean time, she leaned out the other side of her cover and threw out an overload. The Shock Trooper’s own barrier crackled and flared before dropping as Tali hit it with another overload and a lift from Liara saw it rise into the air.  Wrex hit the lifted geth with a warp that saw the mass effect field around it detonate, showering scrap metal over the warehouse floor.

Working through the maintenance area, they encountered another Juggernaut, who fell quickly to the combined fire of the five-man team, followed up with two more Salarians in a small security office.  There were also encrypted terminals with what looked like Asari and Salarian intelligence reports on them. Shepard called a temporary halt to check everyone's status while she and Tali worked on decrypting the intel reports and securing them on their omnitools for later investigation. Everyone was doing well so far, she’d been the only one to take any serious fire so far, and a fresh barrier pack rejuvenated her kinetic barriers faster than letting them regenerate would. Everyone restocked what they needed from the security stores, and whilst Liara and Wrex replenished their biotic reserves with another energy drink, Erisa secured a second Tempest from one of the fallen salarians. Checking it quickly, she loaded the second one with inferno rounds instead of disruptors. Now she was equipped to deal with any threat without the need to mag switch mid combat. Ready to move again, they headed down, following a narrow stairwell down to a door labelled Cell Block A.  Inside, they found two cells occupied.  One had a single Salarian inside, while the others were filled with groups of salarian soldiers, all of them nonresponsive to her approach. Coming to the cell with the single salarian in it, she opened the cell’s intercom before motioning Tali to see what she could do about the lock.

With the intercom open, the salarian was the first to speak. “Well, you're not a geth and you're not wearing a lab coat. I guess I'm glad to see you.” Despite his obvious exhaustion, he came to attention and gave a salute. “Lieutenant Ganto Imness of the 3rd Infiltration Regiment, captured during recon. I assume the fleet was called in to destroy the base?”

Shepard shook her head once. “I’m afraid not, Lieutenant Imness. The transmission wasn't clear. The fleet's not coming. It’s just my people here and the rest of the 3rd I.R.”

“I see. Then you must be the infiltration team,” he surmised correctly. “I know the captain. He will want this facility destroyed. My team was altered, indoctrinated. He knew about the breeding grounds but the indoctrination is a greater threat, and far more horrifying. I watched good people reduced to mindless husks. There wasn't anything left. Others died during the experiments.” His face took on a haunted look that Shepard was all too familiar with; she’d seen it in the mirror often enough. “I envy them.”

Shepard swore in Old Sotho and cast a look over at the other cells. “Do you know anything about the experiments they were conducting?”

Ganto scratched his chin as he tried to answer as best he could, the mental exhaustion of trying to resist the indoctrination plain on his face. “They were studying indoctrination, I believe. Symptoms, progress. Saren uses it to control his people, but I don't think he fully understands it.” I don't know much else. I just saw what it did to the others. Turned them into empty husks.” His voice became a little desperate, close to panicked. “I can't end up like that. Please, you have to let me out!”

Looking to Tali, she got a quick nod. “Okay Lieutenant, I'm opening your cell but then you're on your own. Head back out through the warehouses and hightail it. Best estimate I can give you is you’ve got fifteen to twenty minutes before this place becomes ground zero. Kirrahe’s deploying a basic fission device so run like hell. You won’t have long to clear the blast radius. Lucky for you the wind is offshore, most of the fallout will be carried out to sea.”

Ganto stepped out of his cell and nodded, breathing the free air deeply. “Don't look back and hope to outrun the blast hmm? A better chance than I had before you showed up. If I’m lucky I’ll be able to find a transport near the warehouses. Thank you human, and good luck. You'll need it.”

Shepard nodded and shook his extended hand. “Oh, one last thing Imness. What should I do about your fellow soldiers?" Ganto shook his head. "They are mostly indoctrinated, I fear.  It would be safest to kill them. We have no means to securely transport them beyond the blast radius before your projected time of detonation.” Shepard just nodded. That had been the answer she’d been expecting. Wrex snarled and slammed an armoured fist into the cell door.  "Indoctrinated and left to die when they’re no longer useful. You were right Shepard.  This has to end. My people will not suffer this fate!"  Shepard's face grew cold and emotionless. Garrus had started to notice the signs the way Ashley had and he knew she was detaching herself so she wouldn’t have to carry the weight of leaving so many traumatised soldiers to die in a nuclear firestorm. "Leave them,” she said, her voice flat and calm. Liara gasped at that and spoke out. “Commander... Shepard... we can’t just abandon them to die in the blast! It’s...” She was at a loss for words, but the commander filled the empty space. “Inhuman? Unconscionable? Wrong?” She waved back at the mindless salarian husks. “They were soldiers, doctor. Death in battle, or at least in furtherance of their mission, is their _right_. They sacrificed everything they were to get us this far. They’ve earned the right to die, not to live like... that. It’s an honour I intend to see they are accorded.” Shepard was withdrawn as she walked away, moving in silence to a second stairwell on the other end of the room.  A more solemn group climbed the second set of stairs... only to find another cell block, with four more indoctrinated salarians they also had to leave behind; with the bomb they were planting, Shepard knew it was a death sentence, but she figured death was far preferable to life as what they had become. Before they left the second cell block, she placed a hand on the last door and spoke softly to the poor indoctrinated souls they were leaving behind. “Peace will find you soon, my brothers. Know that your sacrifices be not in vain, your suffering hath given us strength enough to carry on into the Night.”

Yet more stairs led Shadow to another computer lab where two more indoctrinated salarians met an untimely end.  They charged the team as soon as the door opened, only to be cut down by Wrex and Garrus, mercifully dispatching the unfortunate husks with clean headshots from their heavy rifles. With what was looming in the future, Shepard was happy to grant them a soldier’s death. Not all those left behind would be so fortunate. The team then had to backtrack through the disheartening cell blocks, returning all the way to the first security office they had discovered shortly after entering the facility, to find an elevator they had bypassed.  Shadow boarded the elevator and rode it up, weapons primed and biotics ready.  When the door opened at its destination, it was not what they expected; the team found themselves in a lab with multiple husks in some form of stasis field generators.  As the team entered the room, they realized there were also two researchers present who did not appreciate the interruption; they had found the main Genophage facility lab and they were not welcome.  

The room froze for a moment, those within not expecting the sudden intrusion, and the intruders stunned by what they had found. Hefting both her Tempests, Shepard felt the ice cold rage she’d been suppressing start to shake and rattle the bars of its cage, and she snarled viciously as she let it out to play. “Kill ‘em all.”

Chaos erupted; weapons fire burst to life in every direction as the husks were released from stasis.  For once, she didn’t fight tactically, she just let her rage carry her into the thick of it. Both Tempests spat hot death and she waded into the fight, firing at anything that moved and wasn’t one of hers. Tali was out of her element, and with no synthetics to hack, pulled her shotgun, whilst Garrus and Liara went to cover, the first covering their left flank with his Tsunami whilst Liara tossed lifts and warps as fast as she could manage to stop their right flank from being overrun. Wrex, of course, chose to take on the Krogan, Dr Droyas, throwing a warp before charging in, shotgun blazing, yelling "You are enslaving your own people!" as he thundered across the room.  Shepard found herself surrounded by husks and she moved amongst them like a brutish marauder, emptying her weapons into them at point blank range and fending off others with vicious headbutts, heavy knee strikes and solid elbow slams, employing her expertise in Muay Thai to devastating effect.  Garrus’ military past came to the fore and he slipped into Shepard’s usual command role, tossing out orders and directing the flow of combat. "Tali, assist Liara on the flank, let the commander handle the husks! That asari’s mine!” Liara tossed out a singularity that pulled in a few husks and left Tali to blast them to pieces with her Scimitar, before having to take cover from the unknown Asari scientist as she launched a warp. Garrus tossed a fusion grenade at the scientist then pinned her into cover with an enfilade from his assault rifle. Unable to move, the scientist was caught in the ensuing blast and the miniature, rad-free nuclear detonation enveloped the entire section of lab she was hiding in. Tali blasted the last of the husks on their right flank to pieces and further down the long lab bay, Wrex had entered hand to hand with the other Krogan. Brutal punches and headbutts rocked the pair as Droyas gave as good as he got, but Wrex’s centuries of experience, and his serrated jak’tha blade, gave him the edge. Droyas was bleeding from a dozen jagged wounds and the Normandy’s Battlemaster delivered a last overhand hammer fist to the doctor’s temple before he drove a thumb into the krogan’s eye and gouged deep, distracting his opponent long enough he could slash Droyas’ throat. Only two husks still stood against Shepard, but her Tempests’ were dry and she’d resorted to her nanoblade, the glowing monomolecular construct hissing through the air as she sliced the head clean off one and delivered an almighty headbutt to the other, rearing back to put her entire body weight into it. The resulting collision cracked her helmet casing and fractured her visor even as she caved in the husk’s skull. As the echoes of the last shotgun blasts died out, the room seemed unnaturally quiet.  Shepard whirled about, looking for more enemies to kill, only to see her entire squad staring at her in awe, and a little fear. Garrus rounded up the rest of the team and pointed to a medical station at the end of the lab.  "If anyone needs to refill medigel, do it now.  I have a feeling things are just going to get more intense as we go." With the rest of the team busy resupplying, and with Wrex tending to a few minor wounds he’d taken from a scalpel Droyas had been wielding, Garrus approached Shepard. “Commander.” He said calmly, only to get no response, “Shepard.... ERISA!” The loud shout brought her back to herself and she realised she was standing there, panting heavily, with gouges and scores covering her armour; her dry weapons lying at her feet and her nanoblade still hissing. Garrus pointed to her side. “You’re bleeding, Commander. Looks like a husk managed to get in a lucky shot.” Disengaging the glowing construct on her right forearm, she stooped and picked up her Tempests, calmly reloading them and slapping in fresh thermal clips at the same time. “I don’t have time to bleed,” she snapped.

Holstering both weapons on her hip hard points, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes before opening them and nodding to Garrus. She spoke softly, so no one would overhear. “Sorry, Garrus. I guess I let it get away from me there. Won’t happen again.” Garrus just nodded. “Whatever you say, commander. But... you _are_ bleeding.” Looking down, Shepard could see a sizeable tear in her pressure suit just above her hip where a husk’s talons must have gotten through. Applying medigel, she packed a compression bandage over the gash and sealed the suit with repair tape. Garrus waited and rejoined the squad with her, everyone waiting expectantly for Shepard to lead on.  The commander stretched her neck, rolled her shoulders and reassembled a Tempest. “Let’s do this.”

There was a short dead-end hall to the right, and a long hallway off to the left.  Shepard quietly cautioned, "Barriers up.  Long narrow hallway, no room to manoeuvre, and a blind corner at the end.  Eyes open and be ready."  The team then padded softly up the hall, expecting something to shoot around the corner at any time.  They made it to the corner uneventfully, but when Shepard peeked around the corner, she was practically face to face with two Geth.  With two assault rifles levelled right at her, she triggered a function of her Infiltrator armour that she very rarely had to use. Draining her barrier pack entirely, she boosted her kinetic barrier well past 300% and leapt backwards, her shields flaring as they were almost torn apart by the close ranged volley. She yelled out a warning as she rolled back into cover, but it had hardly been necessary. The spectacle of seeing her get blasted back against the wall by a geth enfilade had been more than enough to warn her squad.  Liara quickly sealed the hall with a singularity and Tali started furiously working on her omnitool, ripping a spare barrier back from the pouch on her upper left arm in between keystrokes. The two Troopers rounded the corner and were simultaneously hit by the little quarian with a chained overload, the huge electrical blast arcing from one geth into the other. Their own shields fell, and they were immediately sucked into the singularity, where Wrex and Garrus finished them off with point blank weapons fire.  Erisa, still flat on her back, twisted her hips and spun her legs out wide, then brought them together in a spiralling motion, rising up to her feet with ease, even in full armour. Liara gaped at the move but Shepard just gave her a smirk as she replaced her drained barrier pack. “What? You can’t do that?”

With the Troopers out of the way, they rounded the corner and found a door.  They opened it and saw an Asari scientist hiding behind a desk.  She immediately popped up when they entered. “Don't shoot! Please! I just want to get out of here before it's too late.”

Shepard squinted at her suspiciously and levelled a Tempest at her, ready to react violently should need be. “Okay lady, let's hear it. Who are you and what do you want?”

The asari kept her hands in plain sight, but managed to calm down enough to answer the question. “Rana. Rana Thanoptis, I’m a neurospecialist. But this job isn't worth dying over. Or worse.” She shuddered and gave Shepard a pleading look. “You think the indoctrination only affects prisoners? Sooner or later, Saren will want to dissect my brain too!”

Shepard looked Rana up and down with a wintry gaze, her demeanour back to its usual cool detachment now that she’d let her rage express itself earlier. “Neurospecialist huh? Why would a breeding facility need one of those?”

The asari answered quickly, "Not this level, here we're studying Sovereign's effects on organic minds.  At least that's what I assumed. Saren kept me in the dark as much as possible."

Garrus chipped in, "You helped him, and you didn't even know why?" 

The scientist practically snorted her answer, "I didn't have the option of negotiating.  This position is a little more... permanent than I'd expected.”

Shepard shook her head. “Yeah, I’m still not hearing anything that’s encouraging me _not_ to shoot you. Give me one reason I should let you go.”

Rana’s eyes got a slightly panicked look and she stared about the office wildly, before settling on the door behind her. “I-I can help you!” She cried triumphantly. “This elevator behind me goes to Saren's private lab. I can get you in.” Watching Shepard carefully, the asari waited for a nod that was slow to come before she moved to the door and entered an access code. “See? Full access. All of Saren's private files. Are we good? Can I go?”

Shepard shook her head slowly, her aim never wavering from the neurospecialist. “Sorry Doc, you said it yourself. Indoctrination affects more than just the prisoners. I can't let you leave. Can’t take the risk you’re indoctrinated already.”

“What?!” Rana exclaimed wildly. “I just did what I was told! You can't blame me for that! B-besides, even if I was indoctrinated, it’s not like its infectious or anything! I’m no danger to anyone, really, I swear!”

“I’d like to believe that Doc, I would. And like you said, I don't blame you for what you did, not once you realised what you’d gotten yourself into. But I’m afraid you don't get to live either. You had to know when you first started that what you were doing was wrong. Too many good men suffered and died in your experiments for me to just let you walk out that door. Sorry.” She squeezed the trigger once and watched impassively as Rana’s body collapsed to the floor, purple blood being to pool out around the head; dead eyes staring blankly at the ceiling, a look of shock frozen on her face.

Liara looked at Shepard in horror, her eyes wide.  "You didn’t have to kill her! We could have taken her back to the Council!" 

Shepard shook her head. "That would mean hauling her with us the rest of the way, covering her ass during firefights and someone always watching her. We can’t afford that right now, not with what’s at stake. You might not like it, Doctor, but it was required. And I would suggest that from now on you keep any concerns about my command decisions to yourself until you can raise them with me in private. I don’t have the time, or the inclination, to explain myself whilst we’re in the field.” Her cold, dark eyes bore into Liara’s bright blue ones until the doctor nodded. “Aye ma’am.”

The commander relented as soon as she saw Liara understood. “Don’t take it personally, Liara. But we’ve got a job to do and I need every head in the game. Now, how about we go check out this private lab?" 

Stepping through the elevator door, they moved on.  Saren's lab was apparently empty, so the team fanned out to search for any useful data. Suddenly Garrus called out, "Commander, look over here.  It's another beacon!  Like the one on Eden Prime." Shepard approached the control panel and paused, heaving a reluctant sigh. “Fuck me, not again... Okay,” she muttered, rubbing her brow, “let’s get kick this pig and see what squeals.” With that, she activated the beacon. 

The team watched as the beacon powered up, the green aura glowing brighter until it reached out, grabbed the commander, and once more, Shepard was suspended in mid air by alien technology beyond understanding.  She felt the surge of power course through her body, and now familiar images flashed through her mind, though this time it was somehow...different.  Erisa realized she could actually see; the visions were no longer overwhelming; the cipher must have allowed her to actually process the images and understand them.  As before, the pace accelerated until the images became a blur, too fast for her to comprehend individually, but she maintained enough awareness to realize this time there was... more.  This beacon was fully functional.  There would be no corrupted data, no blank spots in the message; it would be complete.  Suddenly, it was over, the energy fell away and Shepard dropped to one knee on the floor, drained and shaking, a sheen of sweat on her brow.  She shook her head and took a slow breath, fighting the urge to vomit. “Ugh... I can't believe I'm actually getting used to that crap. Damn things always taste like metal... and almonds.” She sniffed and looked at the rest of her squad, noting the concern on their faces and she found herself wishing it’d been Ashley here to help her deal with another beacon. “Well, I think that’s marzipan ruined for me.” That got a smirk from Garrus and he offered her a hand up. Taking it, she stood, a little shaky at first, but she soon stabilised. “Okay, don’t we have a nuke to set? Let’s get moving folks! Crazy Prothean beacon stuff can wait till we’re safe back on the Normandy.”

As they walked up the ramp, a holographic image appeared before them.  Wrex frowned. “I get the feeling something bad is about to happen.”

The ghostly figure before them, a strange amalgam of what Erisa would call a squid mixed with a machine, started to speak, its voice deep and sonorous, yet oddly stilted.  **"You are not Saren.”**

“Garrus eyed it curiously. “What is that? Some kind of VI interface?

The strange image continued to speak to them, its tone almost disinterested. **“Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh. You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance; incapable of understanding.”**

“I don't think this is a VI...” Garrus breathed, unwilling to name it for what it really was.

**“There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign!”**

Erisa gave a hushed, breathy whisper of realisation. “Sovereign isn't just some Reaper ship Saren found....  It's an actual Reaper!”

 **“Reaper? A label created by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what they choose to call us is irrelevant. We simply are.”** The disinterest has started to sound a lot more like arrogance now, at least to Shepard’s ears. Garrus was still having trouble accepting the reality of the being they were talking with. “The Protheans vanished fifty thousand years ago. You couldn't have been there. It's impossible!”

**“Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident. Your lives are measured in years and decades. You wither and die. We are eternal. The pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything.”**

Shepard stared coldly at the holo and when she spoke her voice possessed the kind of steel in it that gave her words an air of inexorability, almost as if merely because she proclaimed it; it would come to pass. “Whatever your plan is, it's going to fail. If it’s the last thing I ever do, I'll make sure of that.”

Sovereign almost sneered at her vehemence. **“Confidence born of ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken.”**

As Sovereign continued, Shepard could hear Liara quietly murmur, "Cycle?  Goddess, I was right!"

**“The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can fathom. Organic civilisations rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory, they are extinguished. The Protheans were not the first. They did not create the Citadel. They did not forge the mass relays. They merely found them, the legacy of my kind.”**

That made no sense! Erisa hated being in a position where she didn’t have all the facts, and in this case, they had none, nothing but fifty thousand year old myth and legend. “But why? Why would you construct the mass relays then leave them for someone else to find?”

Sovereign’s voice had that condescending tone to it again, as if it were talking to children. Shepard hated to admit that in this case, it was. **“Your civilization is based on the technology of the mass relays, our technology. By using it, your society develops along the paths we desire. We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution. You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it.”**

Liara's scientific mind churning, she quickly hypothesized the purpose behind such actions.  This time when she spoke, it was loud and clear.  "They are harvesting us!  Letting us advance to the level they need, then wiping us out!"  Shepard could see where Liara had been going and followed it with the obvious question, but something told her it wasn’t going to be anything that obvious. If the Reapers really were what they claimed to be, how could they hope to even fathom them? "What do you want from us? Slaves? Resources?"  

**"My kind transcends your very understanding. We are each a nation, independent, free of all weakness.  You cannot even grasp the nature of our existence."**

That much was becoming obvious, but she had to try, to find some kind of understanding of their true enemy. "Where did you come from?  Who built you?"  

Sovereign’s disinterest had returned, and when it spoke, it was if it were reciting rote lore. **"We have no beginning.  We have no end.  We are infinite.  Millions of years after your civilization has been eradicated and forgotten, we will endure.  We are legion.  The time of our return is coming.  Our numbers will darken the sky of every world.  You cannot escape your doom."**  

Shepard had had enough of the machine’s arrogance and condescension. "You're not even alive!  Not really. You're just a machine... and machines can be broken!" 

Sovereign seemed almost amused by her petty threat as he finished, **"Your words are as empty as your future.  I am the vanguard of your destruction.  This exchange is over."**  

Immediately following Sovereign's last statement, all the windows of Saren's lab exploded inward, pelting Shadow with shards of glass; as if a massive pressure wave had rocked the building.   Just then, Joker piped in, "Commander, we got trouble!”

Erisa shook herself, brushing off splinters of tempered glass as she answered him. “ Lay it on me Moreau, seems like today is the day for bad news.”

“Uh... yes ma’am. Well, that ship, Sovereign?  It's moving. I don't know what you did down there, but that thing just pulled a turn that would shear any of our ships in half.  It's coming your way, and it's coming hard!  You need to wrap things up in there...fast!" 

The commander looked back to Shadow and gave a grim, almost macabre smile. " We'll head for the breeding facility. It’s past time we blew this place to hell."  The team hustled back to the elevator and back out through the office onto the ramp.  Though they had killed two Troopers on the way in, there was now a Geth Destroyer in their place, and three Krogan warriors en route, still a bit down the path.  Wrex and Liara instantly attacked the Destroyer, battering it with warps, leaving Tali to hit it with a massive overload that saw the Destroyer start to smoke and spark before it toppled backwards off the elevated walkway, plunging into the battering surf below.  As for Shepard and Garrus, they both took cover behind the nearest stone wall and made the most of the twin advantages they had in range and the krogan’s lack of cover. The sharp cracks of their high powered Vipers echoed off the walls of the research facility and both snipers neatly eliminated all three Krogan warriors with pinpoint, lethal accuracy. That opened access to the next doorway, which Shepard opened from the side, then peeked in around the edge.  Nothing.  The way was clear. The entire team trotted up the long open hallway. 

Moving quickly through the door at the end of the hall, the entire team stormed out, expecting resistance.  All they found was a single Krogan, easily overwhelmed with the combined firepower of all five team members.  As they continued up a long ramp, their next obstacle was three rocket drones, which were quickly disposed of after Liara threw up a singularity. While manoeuvring for a targeting vector, each drone flew too close to the event horizon of the mass effect singularity and was drawn in, helpless. Then the entire five man squad simply combined fire to destroy them, one drone after the other.  Before long, all three drones were down and Shadow moved quickly toward a platform at the top of the ramp, and found a turret control and an elevator. Tali quickly deactivated the AA turret control, cutting off its power. They were about to hit the elevator when Garrus called out. “We’ve got reinforcements coming up behind us!”

A Geth Rocket Trooper and one Shock Trooper showed up behind them from the ramp the team had just climbed.  Shadow turned to face them, Liara launching a stasis field on the Rocket Trooper, so the team could concentrate fire on the second attacker. The Shock Trooper fell quickly under the heavy barrage but before they could go to work on the Rocket Trooper, Tali spotted that the elevator behind them had started moving. “Shepard, I think we’ve got incoming on the elevator!” Shepard turned her head briefly to look and swore. “ _Makende_! Liara, Tali! Flanking positions on the door. I want a two second disruptor grenade and a four second AV frag. As soon as those doors open, pop and cover, you read me? Everyone else stays on the rocket trooper!” The two alien women moved quickly into position either side of the elevator doors, each of them readying their respective grenades. As soon as the doors began to open Liara threw in the disruptor, closely followed by Tali’s anti-vehicle fragmentation grenade. Before the doors were fully open there came a massive whoomphing sound as the disruptor went off, tearing apart the shields of the Shock Trooper and the two standard Geth Troopers inside. As they stood there reeling, two seconds later there was an almighty boom as the AV frag went off at their feet; shrapnel and wreckage spewing out of the elevator doors. In the meantime, Wrex, Garrus and Shepard had taken down the Rocket Trooper. As soon as the Stasis field had worn off, Wrex had hit it with a warp to put it off balance, letting the two Normandy snipers pick it off with precision shots from their Vipers; Shepard’s disruptor rounds dropping its barriers before a single armour piercing bullet from Garrus tore through its head, destroying its CPU. With all hostiles eliminated, Shadow jumped on the now battered and torn up elevator and for the short ride up. 

Shepard glanced across all her team members, noting the typical signs of battle fatigue in their body language and faces.  “Stay strong Shadow, we’re almost done.” She favoured them with a very rare genuine smile, her face clearly showing her pride in them. “I’m proud of you, all of you. I’ve worked with some of the Alliance’s best and I can honestly say you’re a match for any N7 team.” Her reassurances, though short, saw a new fire kindled in the eyes of Shadow’s squad members; all of them eager to prove to Shepard they weren’t just a match, they were better. "Okay, we're getting close. According to the STG’s data this elevator opens onto the breeding grounds. We clear them quickly and cleanly then call in the Normandy; from there we set the nuke and we get the hell out of Dodge."  The old earth colloquialism got very puzzled looks from all the nonhumans and Shepard smirked. "Never mind, I'll explain later."  The elevator door opened onto a short hallway, ending all discussion.  The group advanced cautiously, expecting an attack as they approached the corner; they were not disappointed.  Fortunately it was just a pair of Hoppers, easily suspended in a lift, and taken out by swift shots from Shepard and Garrus.  They stormed through the first trench and stepped out into the centre courtyard. 

“Defensive positions everyone! Do a barrier check and fit a fresh thermal if you need to. Bios; replenish your energy reserves while you can. We still have to be ready to defend the site while they offload the nuke."  Doing a quick inventory herself, she left Garrus to deploy the rest of Shadow to the best tactical positions available. She’d found herself coming to rely more and more on the ex C-Sec officer as her second in command, his training was very similar to hers and she knew she could depend on him to take command of the mission if anything put her out of commission. Ready for combat once again, she got on the comm. "Shadow calling Jaeto... Kirrahe, we've reached the rendezvous point.  What's your status, over?"  A static-laden channel hissed and spat before she received his response. The AA guns had been disabled, the targeting and power systems completely corrupted with STG viruses. A quick call to Joker and the Normandy began its descent into the courtyard.  “Nice work Commander! I'm bringing us in, I'll get as close to the site as I can.”  It wasn’t long before soon the Normandy was hovering above them and Kaidan came down the loading ramp with a pair of marines carrying the salarian device. “Glad to see you could make it, Commander. We're moving the device into position now, shouldn't be long before we're all set.”

Shepard nodded, a relieved look on her face. So far things were going to plan, given half a chance they may yet pull this off. That brief moment of optimism was sadly crushed when her radio sprang to life, Ash’s voice sounded almost frantic and Erisa’s heart leapt into her throat. “Commander, can you read me? Come in Commander!”

“We read you, Williams,” she answered, projecting as much confidence as she could into her reply. “Look, the nuke is almost ready. You got...” she checked her chrono, “four minutes tops. You and Jaeto squad fall back immediately. Get to the rendezvous, Williams, or you're walkin' home.”

Gunfire and a distant scream came back over the comm. channel before she heard Ashley’s voice again. “That's a negative commander. The damn toasters have us pinned down on the AA tower! Jaeto and Mannovai have taken heavy casualties, ma'am, and Aegohr's been wiped out. There's no way we make the rendezvous point in time!”

Shepard felt her stomach drop away and she had to clench her teeth and fight against the sudden despair of the implications in Ash’s report. “Just you hold tight marine,” she almost yelled down the line, “the cavalry is coming to get you; all of you. Hold those salarians together, no one else dies today! That’s an order!”

“Negative! Just make sure that nuke is set. We'll hold them as long as we...” The line went dead and Erisa felt her heart skip a beat and her hands started shaking as her mind instantly went to the worst case scenario that a cut in transmission meant.

Kaidan had heard the entire exchange and when he saw Shepard’s face, pale and tight, her jaw clenched and eyes glistening, he knew in that moment what had to happen, what he’d have to do. “It's okay commander,” he said firmly, “It's still going to take me a couple of minutes to finish arming the device. Go get her. You can meet me back here.”

Shepard grasped at the life line she’d been thrown and nodded to Kaidan gratefully. “You just keep that nuke safe Alenko, it's the only card we got left to play!”

Giving a sharp whistle, she rounded up her squad. "Alright, new objective! We reinforce and extract what’s left of Mannovai and Jaeto. We move quickly and kill fast! Let’s roll, Shadow.” Shepard took off running, pulling both Tempests from the hard points at her hips. They weren’t going to have time to move tactically and snipe, this would be a straight out dash relying on maximum speed and maximum firepower. As she blasted into the trench on the opposite side of the courtyard, she jerked violently as a sniper shot tore through her shields and impacted her armour. It didn’t penetrate though and she dived to the side, looking for the sniper. It had been one of the Geth hoppers. The trench was not going to be easy; two Hoppers were providing sniper cover, and they were accompanied by two Krogan warriors and a Krogan Warlord.  Tali drew her shotgun for defence and started working her omnitool for an overload to take down the Warlord's shields, just as Wrex launched a warp at him.  Shepard read the situation and called out an order. “Fuck firing back, take cover. On my mark, I want a full volley of fusion grenades! Dial ‘em up to maximum yield and give me a full spread, left to right respective to your position! Nuke the fuckers!” She waited a moment for Shadow to find cover and pulled her last fusion grenade free from her combat harness, dialling up the yield to max. “And... Mark!”

All five members of Shadow slipped out of cover just long enough to toss their grenades before ducking back into cover again. A few seconds later the entire opposite end of the trench became a nuclear firestorm as the fusion grenades detonated in a wide spread, unleashing a terrifying amount of energy that vaporised all five hostiles and did a considerable amount of damage to the structure nearby. That was the big danger with fusion grenades, they were so devastating that use of them in built up areas was highly discouraged due to the potential for collateral damage. As far as the infantryman was concerned, a fusion grenade was the ultimate conversation stopper. Once the blast wave passed, Shepard stood up out of cover and motioned her squad forward, everyone climbing into yet another elevator at the end of the trench. 

Meeting no resistance, the team rolled out of the elevator and with a quick glance, headed up a ramp on the left to an upper level of the facility.  A Geth dropship roared over top, and Wrex shook his head, “Damn. The Geth are sending in reinforcements.”

Their radios crackled to life and Erisa was beyond relieved to hear Ashley’s voice. “Head ups, LT. We just spotted a troop ship headed to your location.”

Kaidan’s reply was resigned; that of a man who knew his fate and had accepted it. “It's already here, Chief, and it's raining toasters all over the bomb site.”

Shepard was already turning half of her squad back towards the elevator. “Hold on, LT. I'm sending back reinforcements, they’ll be there as soon as they can!”

“That's a negative, Commander. The Geth must be at platoon strength, at least. There's just no way we can hold them off, not even with Shadow’s help. I'm triggering the timer.”

“What in the name of Sam Hell are you doing, Alenko?” Shepard demanded over the radio.

Kaidan’s voice was calm as he answered, his choice plainly made. “I'm making the decision for you, Erisa,” he said, using her given name for the first, and likely last time; its intent to drive his point home to her. “You’re in love with her; anyone with eyes can see that, plain as day. So go get her and the hell with regs. Be happy. I got this.”

Tears streamed unbidden down her face, staining her dark cheeks and her voice cracked as she pleaded with him. “Damn it Kaidan... just, just hold on! We can get you both!”

Kaidan smiled softly, even as he crouched behind cover, tossing warps and singularities at the encroaching geth as fast as he could, dodging incoming fire for all he was worth. “That's a negative, and you know it. The nuke is already armed and the failsafe is active. There's no stopping detonation now.” He paused to gun down a Trooper that was closing on him rapidly, and when he spoke again, he tried his best to keep the desperation out of his voice. “For once in your life Shepard, fight for what you want, not just the damn mission. I got this.”

Ashley’s voice was tearful as she spoke up over the radio, begging with him not to do anything stupid. “Kaidan, no! Don’t do this, you can’t!”

He smiled and the depth of his friendship for both women was clear in his voice. “I love you too Ash, but for once just shut the hell up and let me do one last thing for you. For the both of you...” He closed his radio after that, too busy to continue talking. There was nothing left to say anyway.

With a lump in her throat and a heart as heavy as lead, Shepard issued the orders she knew he wanted her to, and she damned him for a fool as she did. A wonderful, caring fool who embodied the best that Humanity had to offer. “Williams, radio Moreau and tell him to meet us on the AA tower.”

Ash’s voice was soft, filled with grief as she replied. “Yes commander. I...” she trailed off, not knowing what else there was to say.

“I'm sorry, Kaidan,” Erisa said gently, a little surprised when he answered her for the last time.

“I'm not. I don't regret a thing. Semper Fi, Shepard.”

 _You won’t be forgotten, Kaidan, she thought to herself, Ever._   Pushing aside all that raw emotion, she cleared her throat and got Shadow moving again. They could grieve later, right now they had a mission to finish, or they’d all be joining Kaidan a lot sooner than planned. "Let's move **!"** Shepard bolted to the left, taking one more elevator ride to the roof.  The team emerged from the elevator into a battle already in progress.  Captain Kirrahe's remaining forces, the weary and battered remnants of Mannovai and Jaeto, had whittled the Geth down to where only three Shock Troopers and two Destroyers remained.  Catching them from the rear, the team quickly dismantled their defences, with relatively quick kills.  As the guns fell silent, the sound of a personal hovercraft broke the quiet and Saren arrived on site, launching biotic attacks and weapons fire from above.  The team scrambled for cover, returning fire as best they could and diving out of the way of a grenade. His heavy pistol’s thermal clip reached its limit and Saren cast it aside, jumping from the platform to the roof.  As Saren approached, Shepard stepped out of cover to confront him.  His barrier was incredibly strong, as three disruptor rounds from her Tempest caused it merely to flare a few times but not drop.   

Saren started to speak, his deep voice filled with something resembling admiration. “This has been an impressive diversion, Shepard. My geth were utterly convinced the salarians were the real threat. Of course, it was all for nothing. I can't let you disrupt what I have accomplished here. You can't possibly understand what's really at stake.”

Erisa glared coldly at him as she slowly eased her last EM grenade from its belt loop. “This isn't complicated, Saren. I’ve seen your kind before. You’re a petty tyrant who'll do anything to get power. Even joining with the Reapers!”

Saren snarled, clearly frustrated with Shepard’s short sighted interpretation of his actions. “You've seen the visions from the beacon, Shepard. You, of all people, should understand what the Reapers are capable of. They cannot be stopped. Do not mire yourself in pointless revolt. Do not sacrifice everything for the sake of petty freedoms. The Protheans tried to fight, and they were utterly destroyed. Trillions dead. But what if they had bowed before the invaders? Would the Protheans still exist? Is submission not preferable to extinction?”

“My God,” she said, almost laughing at her fellow Spectre, “are you seriously that delusional you really believe the Reapers will let us live? It’s called galactic extinction for a _reason_ , Saren!”

“Bah! Now you see why I never came forward with this to the Council. We organics are driven by emotion instead of logic. We will fight even when we know we cannot win. But if we work with the Reapers - if we make ourselves useful- think how many lives could be spared! Once I understood this, I joined Sovereign, though I was aware of the... dangers. I had hoped this facility would protect me.” He said, casting a hand around to indicate the soon to be vaporized base.

Shepard swore at him in Old Sotho. “You blind asshole! You're just like every other poor bastard in this place. A tool for Sovereign to use then cast aside. Hell, you sound indoctrinated already!”

He shook his head, but didn’t look so sure of himself when he answered. “No! I've studied the effects of indoctrination. The more control Sovereign exerts, the less capable the subject becomes. That is my saving grace. Sovereign needs me to find the Conduit. My mind is still my own... for now. But the transformation from ally to servant can be subtle. I will not let it happen to me.”

Erisa drew herself up, squaring her shoulders as she readied herself to subtly toss the grenade she palmed at him. “Then we're nothing alike. I'd rather die fighting than live as a slave.”

“I'm not doing this for myself!” He bellowed, furious at her unwillingness to listen to his reasoning. “Don't you see? Sovereign will succeed. It is inevitable. My way is the only way any of us will survive!  I'm forging an alliance between us and the Reapers. Between organics and machines. And in doing so, I will save more lives than have ever existed.” He glared at her, finally realising his arguments would never sway the human Spectre. “But you would undo my work. You would doom our entire civilization to complete annihilation. And for that, you must die.”

“One of us will, Saren. There’s too much blood spilt for there not to be a reckoning.” She intoned ominously, before tossing the grenade at him underhand. Saren caught the movement just in time, and deflected the explosive with a biotic swipe before he jumped back to his hover platform and lifted into the air, targeting Shepard with his biotics and additional rockets from the hovercraft.  Shepard's kinetic barrier took a big hit, but held, and the rest of the team started hammering on Saren's barriers with concentrated fire. Shepard advanced her position, dashing past a pile of crates to get some cover, and continued firing on Saren with both Tempests now, the steady and constant barrage of rounds finally dropping his barrier. Saren responded with a volley of rockets, expending all the munitions remaining on his hovercraft.  The resultant explosions stunned everyone on the team, knocking most of them to the ground, including Shepard.  Saren took advantage of the respite and closed the distance to the commander, jumped from his platform, grabbed her, and dragged her to the edge of the roof.  Saren picked her up by the throat and suspended her over the edge, his eyes blazing in fury, his unnaturally strong grip choking her and causing her vision to blur.  Shepard was beginning to gasp for breath when two things happened; first the warning siren for the nuke started blaring, and second, the team had started to recover, and Garrus got off a shot with his Viper. The first distracted Saren enough to loosen his grip and Erisa sucked in a lungful of air; the second caused Saren to stagger beneath the force of the impact and he turned toward the other turian, dragging the commander away from a fatal drop onto the surf pounded rocks some hundred feet below and back over the firm surface of the roof.  He looked back toward Shepard just in time to see the orange glow of her molecule-thin nanoblade slicing towards his neck and he quickly tossed her aside, turning to avoid the knife’s edge by a hair’s breadth. With Shepard still gasping for breath and trying to clear her oxygen-starved senses, he withdrew to his hovercraft and retreated, flying off to most likely return to Sovereign. 

As soon as Saren had departed, the Normandy flew into view and eased in close, the loading ramp directly off the edge of the roof.  Shepard hurried to collect her team and all of the still surviving salarians, boarding the Normandy before it was too late. Ignoring her injuries, Shepard dropped her weapons and dashed to a viewport, watching Virmire shrink beneath them as they made it to orbit, the nuke detonating only seconds later and obliterating much more than just the breeding facility.  Shepard blinked, her eyes glistening, then she drew herself up to attention and gave a formal salute to the man who had sacrificed his life for not only the mission, but for her and Ashley. “Semper Fi, Devil Dog,” she whispered to herself.

Ashley came to stand beside her and Erisa reached down to take her hand, their fingers interlacing slowly as they watched the planet vanishing behind them. Tears ran slowly down both their cheeks and Shepard stood silent as Ash began to recite a time honoured poem by Robert Hall.

“When the beer, it flows like water,  
And the talk, it turns to war,  
Then we speak of absent comrades  
And the Honour of our Corps.

Of the fights in distant places  
And the friends who are no more,  
Dying faithful to the Alliance  
And the Honour of our Corps.

Though our bones are growing brittle  
And our eyes are growing poor,  
Still our hearts are young and valiant  
For the Honour of our Corps.”

Shepard raised her head and joined her voice with Ashley’s, their tone once soft and sad becoming proud and defiant; other nearby marines taking up the call in Kaidan’s honour.

“Should the Eagle, Globe and Anchor  
Call us to the field once more,  
We would muster at the summons  
For the Honour of our Corps.

When the years have told our story  
And we close the final door,  
We will pass to you for keeping  
Bright the Honour of our Corps.

Will you take the awesome burden?  
Will you face the fire of war?  
Will you proudly bear the title  
For the Honour of our Corps?”

After a long moment of silence, Shepard turned to the Chief, eye to eye, and sighing, rested her forehead against Ashley’s. After a few seconds, Erisa closed her eyes and whispered, "For the Honour of our Corps."  Squeezing Ash’s hand once, she turned and walked away in silence.


	15. For the Honour of our Corps

Shepard walked to her quarters and removed her armour, then proceeded to the med bay. As the door closed behind her, Karin looked up, the greeting on her lips dying in her throat. She knew the distant, detached expression Shepard wore now; she knew it well, and if the commander was wearing it, then something had gone terribly wrong. Instead of speaking, she simply waited to hear what Shepard had to say. Erisa’s voice was calm and professional as she spoke, almost disconnected from her own words as she made the necessary statement to the ship's chief medical officer. "Dr Chakwas. It is my solemn duty to report that Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko was killed in action on Virmire. No remains will be available for disposition to the family." Karin remained clinical but allowed through a small measure of respectful sorrow; it was an expression she had perfected long ago as an Alliance medical officer and she nodded as she responded. "Understood, Commander. I'll make the final annotations and close out the Lieutenant's medical records for inclusion in the death notification to Alliance HQ." As much as she wanted to ask the young woman she thought of as a daughter how she was doing, she knew she daren’t. Shepard was... difficult to deal with when it came to her emotions. It broke Karin’s heart to look into Erisa’s face and see that cold, unemotional stare looking back; those huge dark eyes once again devoid of any sort of feeling. It had been a great surprise to her when after only a day or two aboard ship, Chief Williams had started to have a positive effect on Erisa. The more time they had spent together, the more Erisa had seemed like her old self, the young girl Karin had first met aboard the SSV _Einstein_. But all the good Ashley had done was now at risk, for she had seen the commander like this before too, in the days and months that had followed Akuze. She knew she would have to let Erisa be for the moment. She would talk when she was ready; if Karin pushed she risked seeing Shepard retreat further back behind the walls she’d only just learned to let down.  Still operating as if on remote, Shepard lifted the right side of her shirt. "I was engaged in general melee by several geth husks. One got lucky and slipped in a shot underneath my hard suit’s thoracic plating.” Even suppressing her emotions as she was, she still winced when she peeled back the compression dressing. “Garrus assisted me in applying medigel and dressing the wounds.”  Karin motioned her up onto one of the treatment tables and gave her a cool, but concerned look. "I know what you’re doing, young lady, but I can see you need some time, so I won't press. Just as long as you remember that I’m here when you’re ready to talk. Now, let's get you patched up."

Erisa removed the top half of her pressure suit, wincing as the movement stressed and flexed the jagged claw wounds. In just her tight pressure suit leggings and navy issue sports bra, she laid back on the table for Karin to start work. As Karin moved to peel back the temporary medigel patch and clean the wound, Erisa laid a hand over her friends. "Thank you,” Shepard whispered gently, before falling silent and letting the doctor work. Karin's hands clasped hers briefly in acknowledgement and then the doctor focused on her work, starting the muscle stitcher. "They’re mostly flesh wounds to your oblique abdominal tissues, but two of the lacerations made it through to the interior thoracic muscles. You'll be sore for a few days, but you'll only need light duty for 24 hours. Armoured or not, I suggest you keep a compression shirt on for the same 24 hours to minimize core muscle stress." Erisa closed her eyes and steadied herself as her tissues were sewn back together; at least the pain gave her something other than her grief to focus on. On one level, she very much wanted to talk to Karin and unburden herself, but she knew that for now at least, the majority of the Normandy’s crew would be looking to her as their strength. She had to be a rock for those that needed it, immovable and unyielding in the face of the crew’s loss. They needed her to be the Ice Queen when all she wanted to do was collapse into the safety of Ashley’s arms.  

Karin returned to Shepard's bedside and, its work completed, moved the muscle stitcher out of the way. "I'll just put a few skin patches on the more torn up spots, do a little skin regeneration, and you'll be done.” Shepard nodded, her mind already thinking of their next immediate steps. There would have to be a memorial for the lieutenant of course, and she’d have to box his effects and write yet one more of those damnable next of kin letters. Then they had to investigate whatever mess was waiting for them on Noveria. But her mind wasn’t so busy that she didn’t notice Ashley entering the medbay. The Chief looked more than a little worse for wear, banged up and exhausted, and covered in the sweat and grime of the day’s intense fighting. Erisa’s eyes narrowed in concern, for a moment scared that Ashley had been injured, but that wasn’t the case; the chief had come to bring her a report rather than looking for medical attention. “Captain Kirrahe and his men have bunked down in the cargo hold near Wrex, ma’am. Doctor Chakwas’ corpsmen are seeing to their injuries and the mess hall is working overtime to get everyone fed and looked after. The Captain wanted me to convey his thanks to you and let you know he and his men will disembark at our next port of call. They’ll find their way back to Sur’Kesh from there.”

Shepard nodded as she sat up and tested her bandages, wincing softly as she felt the sutures tighten before she relaxed. “Well, we’re heading back to the Citadel before we strike out for Noveria, we need to resupply and upgrade our equipment before our next mission. That should make things easy for Kirrahe.” Erisa could see the mix of emotions on Ash’s face; concern, doubt, anger. She decided to address the easiest one first and touched her bandaged abdomen. “Don’t worry Ash, it’s nothing serious. A husk got in a lucky shot and managed to claw me pretty good, but the doc says it’s just a flesh wound.”

Ash just nodded dumbly, and that worried Erisa more than anything else. She’d never known Ashley to shut down like this, distant and cold was her _modus operandi_ , not the Chief’s. Slipping off of the exam table, Erisa closed the gap between them and reached out, a little timidly, to take one of Ash’s hands. She felt the brunette almost flinch a little at the contact, but she didn’t pull away, and Shepard looked hard into Ashley’s weary face, especially those big, brown eyes that seemed almost vacant. “Hey,” she said softly, “talk to me Ash. I’m the one that hides behind walls, remember? Not you. We can’t both do that, not now. Come on, _talk_ to me.”  

Her gentle voice and the touch of her hand seemed to break through to Ashley, and she looked down for a moment; but when she raised her head, she was stricken. "I... I can't believe Kaidan didn't make it. How could we just leave him down there, ‘Risa?”

The commander shook her head. "We didn't leave him, Ash. He told us to go. There's a difference." Erisa knew that difference wouldn't mean a hell of a lot right now, but it was an important distinction, at least to her. "Kaidan was right. I _am_ in love with you, Ashley Williams, and what happened down there meant I would have had to choose between the mission and you. And that's a choice he knew I wouldn't be able to make. Not quickly and cleanly. I almost split the squad trying to save you both and you know what that would have accomplished?" Looking into her eyes, she could see that Ash already knew, but she had to drive home the point. "It would have gotten us all killed. He knew what I'd try to do, knew what would happen. So he made the call for me. More than that, he made it for _us_. So don't you dare try and blame yourself for this, Ash." Erisa knew what was happening here and she knew she had to do all she could to spare Ashley from the burden she was seeking. She'd lived with her own survivor's guilt for so long now it was a part of her; the weight of so many dead pressing down on her that sometimes carrying it all seemed impossible. She didn't want that for Ash.

Ash didn't just blame herself though, she blamed them both. "But it _is_ our fault, 'Risa. If you didn't love me... if I didn't love you..." She trailed off, but when she spoke again, her eyes were filled with the seeds of a self loathing Erisa knew she couldn't let take hold. " _We_ put him in that position, Erisa. Us. It's our fault Kaidan's dead."

Shepard's face became granite and her eyes filled with a cold anger. "Don't say that, Ash. Not ever, you understand me? We didn’t start this war, we didn’t invade Eden Prime with an army of geth and we’re not trying to bring about the return of the Reapers. Kaidan's blood is on Saren's hands, not ours, and when we find that sonovabitch again, we'll make him pay." Shepard shook herself, an old, familiar grief replacing her anger. "You know Kaidan did more than just sacrifice himself for the mission like a good marine; he died a friend whose last wish was that we be happy." Erisa sighed gently. "I don't know about you Chief, but I'll be damned if I let my grief, or any misplaced sense of guilt, sully and tarnish that last wish. Saren's responsible for enough evil as it is, I won't let him turn what Kaidan saw as a gift into a curse." Ashley still couldn't quite come to terms with it; it felt perverse that a friend's death could be any kind of reason to be happy, but she could see what Shepard had meant. She just needed time to process, to grieve for her friend before she could look ahead. "I... I'm sorry commander; I know he saved our lives. And I'm grateful for that, but I would have stayed behind if it could have saved the LT, you know that."

Erisa smiled sadly and nodded. "I know, Ash. But I'd never leave you, I couldn't. You know _that_." She fell silent a moment, changing tack as something occurred to her. "Would you help me pack up his effects? You know, for disposition to his family? The Normandy was our first posting together and I'm afraid I didn't get to know him all that well. Now I never will." Ashley gave her friend a sorrowful smile, stood a little taller and nodded, blinking away a few tears before she reached out to gently touch Erisa's cheek fondly. "Well, you _were_ a little busy being the Ice Queen back then. At least, to everyone but me. Yeah, I'll help you. I think we owe him that much, don't you?" Shepard nodded. "I think we do. I'll meet you down by his locker, okay? I want to get a clean uniform on first."

\-------------------------------

Once she left her quarters after changing uniforms and having a quick bite to eat, she radioed Pressly on her omnitool. "XO, have Moreau point us at the Citadel. Navpoints are at his discretion, just make sure we arrive no earlier than zero nine hundred ship’s time; if that means delaying at a Relay for a few hours, so be it. I think the entire crew could use a good night's sleep. Sound a general call for the ground team to report to the conference room in one hour for the Virmire debrief and then make a ship wide announcement for the memorial service at 1600 hrs for Lieutenant Alenko." After a brief pause, she heard, "Roger that, Commander." Nothing more.

Erisa knew they should really be heading to Noveria at best speed, but Virmire had proved one thing; combat operations were becoming more difficult. It was time she made use of her Spectre status and gave their armoury an overhaul. No use having a virtually bottomless black ops discretionary account and top-tier government access to the most advanced in weaponry, armour and amps if they weren’t going to use it. She sure as hell hoped that once they got there after a short pit stop, Noveria gave them something. Hell, anything. It was the only lead they had left. Shepard hefted the box she had picked up from storage and joined Ashley by Kaidan's locker. “You ready to do this?’ she asked quietly.

Ashley nodded. “Yeah. I know this is supposed to be just your job, but I really do think he’d want us both here.” As it turned out, Kaidan didn’t really have many personal items. Based on what was in his locker; the Alliance had been his entire life. Together they slowly pulled everything out, removing all personalization and placing the reverted standard issue Alliance weapons and armour in the appropriate cleaning or storage bins. All of his personal items, holos, insignias, badges and the like, Erisa and Ashley collected and placed in the box.

Clearing out a stash of energy drinks and nutrient bars, Ashley smiled sadly and looked over to Erisa. “He ever tell you about his training as a biotic?” Shepard shook her head slowly. “I knew he’d been one of the early ones to go through BAaT, out on Gagarin. Always meant to ask him more about it, but I never seemed to have the time.” Erisa shook her head ruefully. “Guess I should have made time.” Ash took one of the pictures of Kaidan that Shepard handed her and gazed at it, trying to commit the image to memory, so she’d never forget her friend. “He told me about it that first night I came aboard. You know Kaidan was one of the lucky ones, right? He could have ended up with terminal brain cancer after his Mom had been exposed, but instead he developed biotic potential.”

Erisa didn’t know a hell of a lot about biotics at all, not surprising considering she was far more of a tech expert and infiltration specialist. “Yeah, you know, I never quite did get how biotics came to be. Isn’t it something about being exposed to eezo while in utero? D.I. Ellison back at Macapâ explained it when one of the other cadets got curious. Something about trace amounts of eezo accumulating at nodules in the brain and throughout the body while they develop as a baby. Then later on when they’re all growed up they can use movement to stimulate the nodules into manipulating mass effect fields.” Ashley nodded, a faint smile on her lips. “That’s about it, yeah. Well, when Kaidan was old enough, his family was ‘encouraged’ to send him off to Biotic Acclimation and Temperance training, all paid for of course, by the loving, caring folk at Conatix Industries.”

Erisa frowned. “I know that name. They were under investigation almost twenty years ago for detonating eezo drive cores above remote colonies. They went into receivership once the investigation found them guilty of ‘negligent practices’. That, and there was a scandal about conditions aboard Gagarin station.” She moved to scratch her head with her right hand, but winced when her stitches pulled tight. “I don’t know any of the details though, I was still a kid myself, too busy thinking about Harvest Festival and which guy to ask out.” That little tidbit had Ashley raise an eyebrow and she resolved to tuck that away and ask Shepard about it later. Once she’d figured out Erisa was into her in _that_ way, she’d always just assumed that Shepard was a lesbian, the idea she might be bisexual hadn’t occurred to her. “Anyway,” Ash said with a soft smirk, “back to the story. That was apparently where he met a girl, Rahna. He was always a little coy about her, but I got the feeling he definitely had a thing for her. That’s about the only high point of the story, though, because according to Kaidan, things were pretty bad right from the start. The Alliance was only just starting to discover biotics, mostly in the children of colonists or engineers who’d spent significant time around eezo, so there weren’t any humans who really understood what was going on. Conatix, in their infinite corporate wisdom, hired Turians as the biotics instructors. And this was when the First Contact War hadn't even been over for a decade yet. Kaidan's instructor was a veteran, Vyrnnus I think Kaidan said, who apparently introduced himself as the Turian ‘at the helm of the dreadnought that killed your father.’ Even with an ass like that as an instructor, Kaidan managed to keep his cool...” Erisa gave a grin as she packed away the last of the LT’s personal effects, happy to let Ashley keep telling her story. “Yeah, that sounds like Alenko alright.”

Ashley nodded a little then returned to her tale. “Well, that was only until Vyrnnus broke Rahna’s arm when she physically reached for a glass of water, instead of using her biotics. You know what Kaidan’s... what Kaidan was like, so he obviously rushed to her defence, only to end up taking a beating from the turian. It wasn’t until Vyrnnus pulled a knife and slashed him that Kaidan said he lost control. Apparently he released a full biotic kick, strong as anything he could have done now, and it killed his instructor, snapped the bastard’s neck like a chicken bone. Well, after a brief investigation, Conatix closed down BAaT and the whole operation was taken over by the Alliance, shifting everything to the Grissom Academy. Conatix sealed all the records and went into receivership to try and hide their mistakes.” Shepard gave a low whistle. “Wow, didn’t know Alenko had such a storied past. His personnel records tell the rest of the story, and those I’ve seen. He fell off the radar for a bit, but resurfaced a few years later when he joined the Marine Corps in 2173. After that it’s literally commendation after commendation, with glowing reports from every CO he ever had. Mine won’t be any different... except for the fact it’s posthumous.” Shepard gave a frown; she was going to miss his solid mission recommendations and his useful feedback. He’d been her window into the attitudes and feelings of the Normandy’s general crew; something that was useful when you had the reputation Erisa did.

Still, she had to smile softly at the story of Kaidan’s past. It didn’t really explain the man he’d become, so much as inform on it. She had a better picture of him now and she would always be grateful Ashley had taken the time to tell her his story. His actions on Virmire had saved all their lives, and more than that, given her the possibility of a future with someone she loved. For that alone, she would always be in his debt. Ashley meanwhile had paused over a picture of Kaidan and his father... she had no idea when it was taken, but it was somewhere in Vancouver, Canada. Probably somewhere near where Kaidan's father had retired. She remembered Kaidan always had a fondness for bacon wrapped beef filets and a bottle of beer, saying something about the traditional food of his people. She smiled a sad, half-smile and put the picture in the box. She was filled with a sudden thankfulness that it wasn’t her that had to write the notification letter; she didn’t know how Erisa was going to manage it, not when it was Kaidan. He hadn't just been one of the troops, he’d been her fellow officer and, for his part at least, a friend.

Erisa gave a last sigh as she looked at the box and almost reverently picked it up. “Thanks for your help, Chief. I'll see you at the debrief in thirty yeah? And Ash... I know it's pretty raw right now, but try to bring your game face. We’re getting close and I’m likely going to need Liara’s help sorting through the new prothean information. Think you’ll be able to resist shooting her in a fit of jealousy if she has to meld with me?"

Ashley looked at her and smirked dryly. “Ha Ha _ma’am_. I think I’ll be able to restrain myself. After last time, Liara knows now how we feel. She helped me put any irrational jealousies to rest. Just promise me you’ll be careful, okay?”

Shepard smiled softly. "Aye Aye, Gunny."

\-------------------------------

The Virmire debrief had been long, exhaustive and a little emotional so Shepard was grateful when they at last came to discussing the new beacon they had discovered in Saren’s private lab. It meant they were almost done. Ever practical, Garrus was the first to point out the most obvious fact. "Commander, from what the reports on the Eden Prime mission say your encounter with the original beacon was quite the ordeal, it looked to me like your second experience was a significant improvement over the first."

Shepard nodded slowly. "I think it has a lot to do with the fact I’m now in possession of the Cipher. With a little practice the Cipher’s made the visions clearer, more defined. It still hasn’t helped me understand them any better though...  and I'm pretty sure the second beacon added more data." Shepard looked around at her field team and gave a dry smile. “Look, I think it’s pretty safe to say that one of our worst kept secrets is the fact that after Shiala gave me the Cipher back on Feros, it took Liara’s help, in an Asari meld, for me to recover from near total neural shock.” The odd knowing smile passed between squad members and Shepard’s smile became a wry smirk. “The _other_ worst kept secret is none of your damn business. Doctor T’soni... Liara, are you willing to help me out again? Just because I can make sense of the images now, that doesn’t mean they mean anything to me. Perhaps with your prothean expertise you might make more sense of them? Perhaps even recognize something?”

 Liara hesitated, a little nervous about performing a meld with an audience present, but she understood the necessity of it. Glancing around nervously, she nodded before replying. "Yes, of course commander. You are correct in surmising that the beacon in Saren's lab was similar to the one you found on Eden Prime. By combining the visions received from both with the Cipher, I should be able to help you reassemble the beacon’s intended message."

Shepard stood up and walked to the centre of the room. "We may not have much time... we don't know how long Saren has had the data to try to puzzle it all out, but we have you. We should be able to beat him at his own game with that advantage. Just tell me what I need to do."

Liara stood and joined her. "This requires physical contact, Commander, and you will need to let past your walls again. Can you do that?” Erisa nodded, this time she wasn’t hiding inside her own mind, they wouldn’t need Ashley to guide Liara past her mental armour. “Good.  We must join hands... then close your eyes and relax. Focus on the beacon images, Commander." Liara's eyes went black as she spoke the words, "Embrace eternity!" and initiated the meld. { _Focus on the beacon images, commander. Just as we did last time. Show me everything again._ } Liara narrated aloud, for the sake of the crew, "It is a distress call. A message sent out across the Prothean Empire. A warning against the Reapers. But the warning came too late. { _You’re doing well, commander. Remember to breathe, just relax and control the rate of flow. When we are done, I will close the link._ } There are images, locations. Places I recognized from my research! The conduit is on Ilos! Saren needs to find the Mu Relay... It is the only way to get to Ilos, but it has been lost for centuries..."

Liara continued, "I'm going to withdraw from the link slowly now, Commander. We must ease out gently so as to not cause any type of neural shock to either of our systems... let me terminate the link from my side." Just like last time, Erisa was concentrating hard on keeping a lot of horrifying memories locked away from Liara and she reinforced those locked doors as best she could before she made herself relax. It was one of the hardest things she’d ever done, giving complete control to someone else like that, but she also knew it had to be done. Finally Liara withdrew her mind and Erisa let out a long, slow breath of relief at the loss of contact. She blinked once then opened her eyes fully, dropping Liara's hands. "So, Ilos. You recognize it, but don't know where it is?” Maybe this wasn’t going to be as easy as she’d hoped.  “I've never heard of the Mu Relay either... how do you just _lose_ a star system?"

Liara shook her head. "The records are very old. From the surviving data fragments it seems the system had an unstable star that went supernova. It blew the system apart, tossing the relay to parts unknown, somewhere into deep space. It has never been found, at least not that we know of."

Garrus frowned as he summed up their new intel quite succinctly. "Great, so we need to find a relay that hasn't been seen in centuries, Saren and his entire fleet of Geth have a head start on us, and we still have no clue what this Conduit is. Those aren’t great odds, Shepard."

Shepard shrugged almost nonchalantly. “Since when have the odds ever been good, Vakarian?” She shook her head as she had to disagree with him. "Smart money says this is exactly the reason he was trying to ‘recruit’ you in the first place, Liara. He may have had Benezia to help him integrate and understand the messages from the beacons, but you’re the only one with the in-depth prothean knowledge to identify that planet as Ilos. We may just have the jump on him; but now the question is, how do we find Ilos?" The commander looked around at her people, waiting for ideas. When none were forthcoming, she grimaced. "Okay people, I think it’s time we called in our chits. We’ve done more than a few favours for people so far so let’s reach out and see if anyone’s heard anything.”

Shepard started to wrap things up. "I guess we’re done here. Just a couple of announcements. First, our next scheduled stop is the Citadel. We’ve got access to the Spectre offices’ supply chains so I want everyone to draft a wish list and hand it in to Petty Officer Postle in Requisitions. From there we move on to Noveria in the Horse Head Nebula. There are reports of Geth activity on planet, so who knows what we'll find there. I’m not expecting a great deal of cooperation though; the planet is outside Citadel space and is run entirely by the major corporations, using Elanus Risk Control Services as their private police force. They don't recognize Alliance authority and hardly recognize the Spectres; there is an agreement granting me privileges, but the agreement has never been tested. We’ll be the first. Mission packets will be updated and deployments finalized once we reach Noveria orbit. We've got a few days travel to do, at least, so make the most of it and get rested up.” Shepard paused for questions but there were none, so she continued. "Second, I expect to see all of you at the memorial service for Lt Alenko, 1600 hrs if you didn't hear the announcement. Dismissed, everybody."

Shepard returned to her quarters and took a seat. She contemplated putting off writing the letter to Kaidan's father, but thought better of it. It was not only a requirement, but the last form, the only form really; of solace she could offer his family. She’d had to write too many of them already in her career and the prospect of writing another had her head pounding. They never got any easier, and if the day ever came that they did, then she suspected that was probably the day she should quit being a marine.

_‘My dear Mr Alenko,_

_It is my sad and solemn duty to inform you that your son, Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, has died in performance of his duties to the Alliance and the people of Earth. As his commanding officer, and his friend, I find it nearly impossible to know what to say to the parent of one who has been killed in war, because war is so senseless and the violent death of any of our sons and daughters for any reason seems so meaningless._

_I can only say that is my deepest belief that your son, along with all those who have fought in all our wars, did not die in vain. His selfless sacrifice saved the lives of many of his fellow marines, my own included; and by extension; countless civilians throughout the Alliance colonies. For his heroic act of bravery I will always owe his memory a debt of deepest gratitude._

_The Alliance was built on the precept that freedom is sacred. Many of Humanity's children have fought and died for that precept, and as long as there is tyranny in the galaxy, Humanity will be called upon to oppose it. Kaidan was the best of us, his very presence inspired us all to be better men and women; if nothing else I would hope he be remembered for that._

_Please accept my deepest sympathy for your loss and know that every one of us who had the honour and privilege to serve with him shares in your grief. God be with you in this time of mourning._

_Sincerely,_

_Lieutenant Commander Erisa Shepard, AMC_

_Commanding Officer, SSV Normandy’_

 

After an hour, she still wasn't completely happy with it, but she had to give up on it to put on her dress blues for Kaidan's memorial service. As she buttoned up her jacket, she started practicing what she was going to say at the ceremony, when her door chimed. She stopped and faced the door. "Come."

It was Ashley, come to collect her for the memorial service. Neither woman was exactly what you'd call 'girly'; Ashley had grown up a military brat on the colony world Sirona, moving from base to base when she'd been younger, and Shepard had been a farm girl growing up out on Mindoir's agri-colony. 'Tomboy' and 'rough and tumble' was pretty much in their blood, but that didn't mean they were entirely without their feminine sides.

After all, both had managed to have at least semi-stable relationships before, though it had admittedly been a lot longer for Erisa. Six years of being an emotionless Ice Queen terrified of even making a friend in case she lost them had led to a sex life that had been almost exclusively battery powered. Her last serious relationship had been just over six years ago, right before Akuze, when she'd been a junior first lieutenant stationed onboard the SSV Munroe and had dated one of the heavy cruiser’s junior engineers. It hadn't been nearly that long for Ashley though, maybe only a year or so ago when she and the 212 had been stationed on Fehl Prime and she'd been seeing the star pitcher on one of the colony's local baseball teams.

But ever since the Normandy had picked up Ashley on Eden Prime, their lives had been a nonstop rush of mission after mission. Bulky hard suits, unflatteringly tight and ugly pressure suits and basic utilitarian Alliance uniforms were all the pair had really seen each other in, except for once on the Citadel where they'd been in dress blues; but that had been before either of the two women had fallen for the other. So now, seeing each other in fully tailored dress blues, the gold trim highlighting the smooth dark blue lines, the way they'd been cut to fit each woman's body, their military ribbon boards proudly arrayed across strong, and in Ash's case ample, chests... well, it evoked quite a response. Each woman had moved from strong, tomboyish sexiness to a far more... sensual kind of allure. Whereas the Chief's dress uniform only served to further accentuate her womanly curves, the same uniform on Erisa surprisingly softened her harsher, more angular frame and features, definitely accenting her more feminine side. Neither woman was quite prepared for the desires that were awakened, however inappropriate they might be for their current situation.

Ashley was the first to find her voice, though she did have trouble tearing her eyes away from Erisa. "Ah, sorry to bother you ma'am. I just thought you might like some company on the walk down to Engineering." Shepard was having much the same problem as Ashley, and felt her cheeks get hot when the Chief coughed. "Ah, my eyes are up here, ma'am."  Erisa looked up guiltily, thinking she'd been sprung doing all the ogling, but she had to smirk as she saw Ash's face and she cocked an eyebrow smugly. "So are mine, Chief."  Ash hastily tore her appraising gaze away from Erisa's body and she flushed hotly, her cheeks stinging. "Uhm, sorry. Just... I had no idea how good you look in your dress blues!" Erisa gave Ash _that_ smile and had to resist licking her lips flirtatiously. Now wasn't the right time for that, not with Kaidan's memorial service gathering just decks below them. "You clean up pretty good yourself Chief. C'mon, we better get down there." Ash nodded and fell in beside Shepard as they left her quarters, heading for the elevator to farewell the man who'd given them his life.

\------------------------------------------

Neither Liara nor Tali had ever been to a military memorial service before and they both felt a little nervous and rather out of place. Wrex on the other hand was an old soldier; older than most of them knew, and he caught their attention, waving both women over before whispering a quiet aside. “Don’t worry, kids. Just stick by me. Ain’t never seen how the humans honour their dead before, this should be interesting.” All the Navy personnel stood together in one group, most of the Marines in another, with a small contingent of four standing separately off to the side in a straight line. The outside two carried rifles, and the centre two had flags; one was the Alliance flag, it’s white arches and stars on blue standing out in stark comparison to the golden eagle, globe and anchor on a red field of the Marine Corps colours. The two larger groups stood in perfectly straight lines, with their feet slightly apart and their hands clasped behind their backs. The Executive Officer, Lieutenant Pressly, stood in the middle, at the front of both groups. When the Commander entered the bay, the Lieutenant barked a sharp command, "Detail, Ten-hut!" and the two groups, in unison, clapped their heels together and stood ramrod straight, with their arms at their sides. XO Pressly turned smartly about, and faced the commander, saluting. Commander Shepard returned the salute, both then dropping their arms. There weren’t many civilian personnel stationed aboard the Normandy, even the medical staff, like Karin and her corpsmen were proper navy. The few there were, like Tali, Liara and Wrex had fallen completely silent, but had not changed positions, the noticeable exception was Garrus, who though technically a civilian contractor, stood at attention beside the marines, his military past saw him honouring Kaidan as best he knew how; like a soldier.

Commander Shepard stood before them all, also at attention. When she spoke, "Parade, Rest!" the military members returned to the position of relative ease they had been in when they had originally entered, but everyone remained silent. The only sound was the gentle thrum of the Normandy's engines in the background. When Commander Shepard spoke, she did so with a sonorous, commanding cadence that filled the gathered silence of the Normandy.

"We are gathered here to commemorate and honour the life and service of Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko. Many knew him as a brother in arms, to others he was a friend, but for all of us he embodied the very best that Humanity has to offer this galaxy. Kaidan’s easy going nature; his hard-won wisdom and tempered compassion meant he was always a steadying hand at the tiller, helping to guide every life he touched through its own turbulent waters. But Kaidan Alenko was also a marine to the core, born to serve and dedicated to duty; to the mission. Few of us will ever get to choose how they meet their end. Kaidan was one of those lucky few and when it came, he met death as I hope we all would have the courage to do so. With integrity, dignity and honour. Without his sacrifice, many of us would not be here today to bid him farewell; to all of us who owe him our lives, I urge you never to forget him. Honour his bravery in kind; be as steadfast as him, as loyal as him. Let his memory live on in our deeds from this day forth. Today, we lay a good man and a true Marine to rest, but know that our force is not lessened for it, but strengthened in his honour."

After a brief pause, Commander Shepard snapped to attention and barked, "Detail, Ten-hut!" Every member snapped to join her. "Present... Arms!" Every member snapped a salute in near perfect unison before a lone marine in full honour dress stepped forward and raised a bugle to her lips. From that simple, single horn came the most forlorn and haunting sound a soldier could know; the last call of the day as the Marines played out one of their own. As the last note wavered and died, the commander dropped her salute. Order... Arms” and looked to the Colour Guard. "Present the flag." The four marched forward until directly in front of the commander, dipping the Marine Corps colours in respect. Lieutenant Pressly stepped forward and gathered it, removing it from the staff pole, the colour guard then reversing and returning to their original location. Pressly handed one end to the commander, and together they folded it, very precisely, into a triangle, Pressly taking it and smoothing all the final edges. The commander saluted Pressly once more, and he slowly reached out and handed the flag over to her. Erisa turned sharply, and placed the flag into a decorative box on a table. She saluted the folded flag one last time and then returned to her original position, speaking very softly to Lieutenant Pressly. "Dismiss the troops."

Pressley turned sharply to face the formation, and issued the final command of the ceremony, "Fall Out!" The entire formation, both groups in unison and in perfect cadence, took a step backward, came back once more to attention, and did an about face, all heels coming together in a final position of attention with a resounding snap. Then, as if a spell had broken, the group fell to pieces, each man and woman going in their own direction, seeking their own space in which to mourn privately the loss of the man who’d been so much the heart of the Normandy.

As the cargo hold emptied, the crew all drifting away, the commander returned to the table and respectfully sealed the flag display box, taking great pains to ensure that the flag was perfectly positioned inside. Picking it up, she reverently packed it into the shipping crate that held Kaidan's few personal belongings. She had one final duty to perform, an official request to Admiral Hackett that Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko be posthumously awarded the highest honour the Marine Corps had; the Navy Cross. It was the one last gesture she could make to thank Kaidan for all he’d done. She’d had to accept that the letter to Kaidan's father was as good as it would ever be. The words just didn’t exist to adequately convey all she wanted to, or to assuage the loss his father would feel. She closed her eyes and hung her head in sorrow. She had no idea how long she had been standing there, but when she sighed and picked up the crate, she realized she was very much alone in the room. She shook her head and walked slowly to her quarters, knowing that tonight one more face, one more accusing voice, would join the spectral gallery that haunted her dreams.


	16. The Weight of the Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> VI = virtual intelligence  
> msiri = intimate friend

Shepard returned to her quarters as soon as the memorial for the fallen was over. The lights came on as she entered her cabin but the brightness didn't feel right to her, not when she was in such a dark place, and so she adjusted the light levels to a more suitable ambiance. "VI, set light level to 50% standard and access personal music files. Playlist ten, randomize." The Normandy VI acknowledged her orders and the lights dimmed until she stood in a blue twilight. She gently placed the shipping crate of Kaidan's effects on her desk and fetched the hand written letter to his father. Signing it, she added it to the box then sealed it. Breathing a sad sigh, she opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a glass and the three quarter full bottle of Don Julio. With a swift tug, she pulled open the jacket of her dress blues then poured half a glass, corking the bottle before she took a mouthful, feeling the strong alcohol burn of the tequila as she stood there at the desk. An old, old song from the late 20th century began to pipe in over the speakers in her quarters, and she watched the stars streak past her window as she let the haunting strains of an electric guitar and the wistful lyrics flow over her.

_These mist covered mountains_

_Are a home now for me_

_But my home is the lowlands_

_And always will be_

_Some day you'll return to_

_Your valleys and your farms_

_And you'll no longer burn to be_

_Brothers-in-arms_

Taking another mouthful of tequila, she closed her eyes and as the song continued to play she saw Kaidan's face in her mind, his warm smile and earnest eyes; his thoughtful manner and the caring nature that had made him one of the best men she'd never gotten to know. She knew she would always, always regret that she hadn't taken the time to see him as anything more than just a marine and some of his last words to her echoed in her ears. _'...go get her and the hell with regs. Be happy...'_

_Through these fields of destruction_

_Baptisms of fire_

_I_ _'ve witnessed your suff'ring_

_As the battle raged higher_

_And though they did hurt me so bad_

_In the fear and alarm_

_Y_ _ou did not desert me_

_My brothers-in-arms_

But she had deserted him. She'd left him to fight and die alone, surrounded by their enemies; and that knowledge seared her soul as sure as an open flame. It didn't matter that he'd chosen that death, that he'd willingly given his life to stop Saren's army of krogan. All she could feel was the guilt and the shame that she hadn't had the strength to put the mission first, to place stopping Saren above the dream of her and Ashley being together. With a mournful howl that was filled with all her grief and rage, she hurled the empty glass at the wall and watched it shatter into a thousand glittering shards. Snatching up the tequila, she stumbled back until she hit the bulkhead then sank to the floor, sobbing silently as she clutched the bottle to her chest. She had held it together in front of the crew, detaching herself from the pain and the grief so she could function as the commander they needed her to be; debriefing the ground op, doing her duty in the disposition of Kaidan's effects and then leading them in their honouring of his brave sacrifice. But here, alone at last, she could let her own emotions play themselves out. All of those dark feelings she knew so intimately; her grief and anger, her shame and guilt warred with such things as her pride in Kaidan's honour and bravery, and the knowledge that he'd given his life so she and Ash might live on and find some kind of happiness together.

That was the cruellest cut of all. No, Kaidan's death had brought far too many horrific memories to the fore of her mind for even her walls to hold back the years of pain and grief. Memories of all of the friends she had lost during her years in the Corps; all those that had died under her command. They called her a survivor, as if it was some great thing to live on and carry the weight of so many dead. It wasn't an achievement, it was a curse. No one knew better than her the mistakes she'd made. The choices she'd had to make that had gotten people killed and the gambles she'd taken with the lives of her soldiers, all in the name of getting the job done; all for the sake of putting the mission above everything else. The list of names she carried with her of all the people who had died under her command... the name of every soldier, sailor or marine for whom she had ever needed to write one of those damn letters was burnt into her memory, but more than that, she'd etched them into her own flesh, so they would never be forgotten. They were hard to see, the long list of names tattooed in black ink against the black skin of her right arm; but they were there.

 Uncorking the bottle with her teeth, she spat aside the cork and took a long pull from the bottle, trying to numb the pain of her memories. Tossing aside her dress uniform jacket, she ran her fingertips over her bare right arm, feeling the names imbedded there. They numbered over a hundred at least, and down near the middle of her forearm, she traced the lettering of the most recent: Jenkins. _Don't worry,_ she told Kaidan silently, _there's room for you here too. See? Right there, just under the corporal. That's your new home, LT. Right beside all the other brave men and women I've failed._

That was where Ashley found her almost an hour later. She'd only come by to see if the commander wanted to join her for dinner, but when Shepard hadn't answered the door chime, Ash knew something was wrong. Hitting the panel to open the door, she waited for the bulkhead to swish open and found herself stepping into the dim half light of Shepard's cabin. She could smell tequila in the air, and when she stepped forward, she first felt then heard the crunching of glass beneath her boot. Melancholic music from the commander's favourite era played over the speakers and when Ashley moved around the desk, she sighed sadly as she saw Erisa sitting in the dark. "Oh, Shepard..." The commander sat slumped on the floor, her back leaning against an interior bulkhead and her head hanging down, her face hidden from view; the nearly empty tequila bottle dangling from her gloved hand. Ashley had long been afraid of this, ever since Karin had taken her aside after Feros and discussed the possibility with her.

The more intimate and personal relationship she'd forged with Shepard had been good for the commander, causing her to lower her walls and relax her emotional defences; to become more human again. But it had also opened Erisa up to the repercussions; the danger that without those thick walls she'd begin to experience more and more of her repressed traumas as her emotions finally found a way to the surface after being subsumed for so long. Sadly, it looked to Ash like that was exactly what had happened; the raw emotions surrounding Kaidan's loss finally proving too much for even Erisa Shepard to suppress. Shaking her head, Ashley moved towards where the commander sat, taking a knee in front of her and gently shaking Erisa by the shoulder.

Erisa's head came up slowly, her morose expression breaking into a warm smile as she recognised Ashley and she let out a breathy sigh that smelt like a distillery. "Hey Ash, what's up?" she slurred drunkenly, happy to see the woman she loved. Then she remembered just what that love had cost them and her tipsy smile turned into a sombre frown. Ash shook her head and pried the tequila bottle out of Shepard's hand, setting it aside up on the desk. Tenderly she reached out and caressed Erisa's cheek, watching as the slimmer woman nuzzled her hand. With a sigh she shook her head resignedly. "Damn but you're a hot mess. C'mon skipper, I think we'd better get you to bed."

Shepard didn't resist as Ashley slipped a tattooed arm over her broad shoulders and then slid an arm about her waist to help the commander up; but she did fix the brunette with a frustrated stare. "Y-you know my damn name Ash, would it kill you to use it? S'not like there's anyone around to hear you." The cute pout that came with the crabby glare made Ash smile fondly and she nodded. "Fair enough, Erisa. Now come on, bed."

They'd moved out of the ready room by now and into Shepard's sleeping quarters, and with her bed in sight and the love of her life so close she could smell the shampoo and gun oil, Erisa might have been forgiven for misjudging just how drunk she was. Pushing herself up onto both feet, she took her own weight and staggered towards the bed, pulling off the rest of her dress uniform top and kicking off her ankle length dress boots before unbuckling her belt. She gave Ash a rather drunken but still seductive look that was filled with a mix of love and desire so potent it made Ashley's knees go weak for a second and she couldn't help but briefly contemplate giving in to what the naughty gleam in Erisa's eye was suggesting. Only briefly though, and she still shivered as Erisa kept looking at her with heavy lidded eyes. "Down girl," she warned Shepard light heartedly, "you know we can't do that, not with things the way they are." Her next words were a little more reserved, shyer and soft spoken. "Besides... I don't want our first night together to be a drunken mess. When the time comes, I want it to be with the real you... not drunk you." To her relief, Erisa nodded and dropped the seductress act, smiling warmly instead as she leant on the bed. That didn't last long before she overbalanced and collapsed onto the mattress, a light hearted giggle coming from her as her legs got stuck in her pants. Ashley smirked and shook her head. "Such. A. Dork...."

Together they managed to get her stripped down to her underwear and under the covers, and Ash sat on the side of the bed, gently running her fingers through Erisa's thick, black pixie cut as she soothed the woman who held her heart off to sleep. Speaking softly, Ash ordered the VI to drop the light level even lower and bent to place a chaste kiss on Erisa's forehead. Standing, she went to leave when she felt a strong hand dart out to catch her by the wrist. Looking back, she saw Erisa's huge dark eyes looking up at her and her voice almost quavered with vulnerability. "Please stay with me, Ash." Her voice sounded so innocent and frightened Ashley thought for a moment a child had spoken. "I just want to sleep. I can't go back there, not tonight. He'll join them in the gallery... I... I don't think I could take that, not yet."

She had no idea what Erisa meant, but she could see the need in those large, dark eyes, a primal need for safety, for protection from a deep and very personal fear. Without needing to speak, Ashley nodded her assent and slowly stripped down to her own undergarments before slipping beneath the sheets and sliding up against Erisa. Shepard rolled over and snuggled into her side immediately, resting her head on Ash’s shoulder and curling a possessive arm over the brunette’s midsection. Struck by the intimacy and the deep trust it must have taken for the normally so confident and self possessed commander to have shown her just how afraid she was of being alone right now, Ashley felt a surge of possessiveness herself and wrapped her left arm about Erisa’s shoulders, fingers running softly over the ruined, scarred skin that covered the entirety of Shepard’s arm and up onto her shoulder. Maybe it had been the drink, but Ash was liked to think that Erisa hadn’t felt self conscious about her letting her scars show because it was her. Gently stroking the nubian dark skin of ‘Risa’s cheek with her right hand, she hushed the love of her life and quietly rocked her to sleep, whispering words of support as she kissed Shepard’s forehead again. “You’re safe here, ‘Risa. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.” Erisa’s plea echoed in her mind though, and try as she might to fall asleep beside the commander, she couldn’t. There were too many questions and Ashley had a burning curiosity about exactly what they meant. _Go back where? Who’s ‘he’ and what gallery is he joining? Damn it ‘Risa, when are you going to open up and talk to me about your past?_

\------------------------------------

Shepard was sure she was dreaming, but she couldn't quite place what or where she was dreaming about. The bed seemed smaller than she remembered; the sheets thicker and heavier somehow, as if she was wrapped in a cocoon of warmth. She felt... safe, a feeling she hadn’t truly known in a very long time. She was more relaxed then she could ever remember being and for the first time in six years she’d slept through the night, undisturbed by the ‘Gallery’; the empty faces and accusing voices of those she’d either led, or sent, to their deaths. As she slowly drifted closer to waking, she realized she it wasn’t a dream at all, and with eyes still closed, she moved to roll over... and felt resistance. She instantly froze, her survivor’s instincts kicking in and her eyes popping open, only to slam them shut again as the dim light of her cabin drove daggers into her hung over brain. She groaned as the thumping started in her head and opening her mouth, she could taste the tequila on her breath and feel the dryness in her mouth. But those well earned discomforts lasted only moments as her foggy memory cleared and fragments of last night returned to her consciousness. She was lying on her left side, and gently she ran her hand down beneath the covers until she felt an arm possessively draped over her hip; arresting her movements as calloused fingertips and a calloused palm lay flat against her toned abdomen. Keeping her mouth shut so her terrible morning breath wouldn’t spoil the moment, she looked back over her shoulder to gaze at the beautiful marine stretched out behind her, pressing against her back and curling in behind her legs as they spooned. A quick glance at the chrono beside her bed told her seven hours had passed. Erisa marvelled silently at the best night of sleep she’d ever had, for once unbroken by the nightly horrors of her nightmares. She knew it was the work of the pale, perfect woman beside her; in whose arms she knew a kind of safety and peace she’d long thought lost to her. Erisa gently turned over onto her back, careful not to wake Ashley, and she smiled to herself as Ash’s arm dropped back down to lie over her midsection, her hand now resting on Shepard’s left hip. Silently she watched Ashley sleep, the Chief’s broader features completely at rest; a wave of brunette hair hiding half her face as she lay there; her other arm tucked beneath the pillow they shared. Erisa eased her left hand out from under the covers and was briefly surprised to see it was bare, the blue glove she always wore tossed aside somewhere on the floor. In the past that would have made her uncomfortable. She wasn’t ashamed of her extensive scarring, but it was something deeply personal to her, not for others to see. But it was different with Ashley. She wanted her to see the scars, to know what they felt like. They were a part of her and Erisa hoped that Ash could accept them. Gently, she reached out with her acid-burnt hand and gently cupped Ashley's face, her thumb gently caressing a smooth, pale cheek; so different in hue to her own nubian dark skin. Ashley mumbled in her sleep then gave an adorable little snort, anyone else may have found it off-putting, but it made Erisa's heart skip a beat as she pondered the vagaries of fortune that had caused the wonder that was Ashley Williams to enter her life.

Rough fingertips continued to caress Ashley’s cheek, slowly tracing along her cheekbone then up to her ear where she delicately followed the contours of the lobe until finally moving down to trail along the strong jaw line. Shepard studied every feature on the face before her; and she smiled softly when those deep brown eyes slowly opened and sleepily looked back into Erisa's own dark eyes. A small smile crossed Ashley’s lips even as her cheeks flushed a little pink and she wrinkled her nose in a manner that Shepard found very attractive. For her part, now that she was slowly coming awake, Ashley yawned widely and turned her face, trying to bury it in the pillow as she mumbled, "Hnnh... Don’t wanna get up."

Erisa chuckled quietly and began to gently caress the forearm that lay across her stomach. “They haven’t blown Reveille yet, marine. It’s still the bottom quarter of dog watch so we’ve got a little time.” That had been a mistake, and Shepard knew it as soon as the words were out of her mouth. There’s nothing quite like reminding the woman you’re in bed with that she’s both under your command and breaking regs to ruin the mood. Ashley came awake real fast after that, red faced and a little panicked, but Erisa threw her arm about Ash’s waist to stop her from bolting out of the bed. “Hey, hey... settle down Ash. Where’s the fire?” As soon as she felt Erisa’s arm slip about her waist, Ash felt her panic subside almost completely and she quickly realised that she really didn’t want to get out of the bed; not if it meant having to leave Erisa’s side; but she knew she had to at least make the effort, for appearance’s sake if nothing else. So, fixing Shepard with her best sardonic look, she spelled it out. “Ah, where should I start, _ma’am_? I just spent the night with my CO, in her cabin, onboard a fully crewed warship in the middle of a highly classified Council mission. There’s no way in hell I’m getting out of here and back to my rack, which is where I _should_ be by the way, without someone seeing me. God, I may as well give up any hopes of being taken seriously right now...”

Erisa couldn’t help but smirk a little, and the expression turned into a laugh when Ashley saw the smirk and whacked her with the other pillow several times. The impromptu pillow bashing turned into spontaneous wrestling match as Erisa tried to wrest the pillow out of Ash’s hands and after a minute or so, Shepard threw up her hands. “Uncle, damn it, Uncle!” Ashley relented after walloping Erisa one more time then dropped the pillow on the bed and fell backwards onto the mattress in a bogus huff, pouting a little as she burrowed back into the sheets. Erisa smiled faintly and sank back into the bed as well, snuggling up with Ash, pleased when the other woman didn’t pull away. “Well, first things first, we didn’t technically break regs, did we? Judging by my headache I was pretty blitzed and you’re not the type to take advantage. Still," she continued, ready to address Ash’s biggest worry, “I know what you mean. Appearances can be deceiving and I don’t want my stupid decision to get hammered last night coming back on you. I know what scuttlebutt can be like onboard a ship, and I don’t necessarily want the general crew thinking the Ice Queen has started thawing, either.” She looked about the room, struggling for an idea... before finally giving Ashley a grin. “Karin. She’ll help.”

Ash’s response was to slip an arm back around Erisa’s shoulders, the fingers of her right hand finding and interlacing with Erisa’s scarred left. “Doctor Chakwas? You really think she’d help cover for us?”

Erisa shrugged. “Why not? We wouldn’t be in this situation if she hadn’t encouraged us both, now would we?” She fixed Ash with a pointed stare, and then gave a wry smile. “Besides, don’t you think it’s time we dropped the pretence? At least in private? I’m in love with you dumbass, and sooner or later regs aren’t going to be enough to stop me from being with you. We might have to play our roles out there,” she said, gesturing to the rest of the ship, “but in here can’t we at least accept what we both know is true?”

Ashley couldn’t resist teasing the woman she loved and made a great display of pretending to consider all the consequences and repercussions, watching the consternation grow on Erisa’s face before she eventually gave in, clouting her with the spare pillow again. “Of course, you dummy! I’m in love with you too, you know. And you’re probably right; we’re not going to be able to resist forever.” She paused as a thought came to mind, and it made her blush a little as she spoke, a nervous quiver in her normally steady and confident voice. “Umm... you _do_ know I’ve never been with another woman, right?”

Erisa snorted and rolled her eyes. “Well I don’t remember ever seeing you at any of the marine corps LGBT socials so yeah, I kinda figured that.” Her voice turned soft and reassuring as she continued to hold hands with Ashley as they lay in bed. “Don’t worry about it, okay _msiri_?” she said, using an old Sotho term of endearment for the first time. “When the time comes we’ll take it slow. You’ll figure it out. Besides, I’m a little out of practice myself... my last girlfriend _was_ six years ago.”

"That’s... quite the dry spell ‘Risa,” Ash said with a sly grin. “You sure things are still workin’ down there?” Shepard gave an exaggerated gasp and narrowed her eyes before finally grinning. “Low blow, Williams. And yes, I’m sure things are still working. My trusty little friend ‘Bullet’ and the dwindling supply of batteries in my bedside drawers can attest to that. Geez!" They fell silent after that, grinning at one another like a pair of happy fools as the tension between them slowly mounted. Every time they had touched so far, it had always been Erisa who had initiated, but this time it was Ashley who made probably one of the boldest moves in her adult life. Lying face to face, she slipped her hand out of Shepard’s and dropped one hand to her hip, the other moving from Erisa’s shoulders to tangle it’s fingers in her ragged, black pixie cut. Her hand then traced down Erisa's neck, and Ashley cupped the back of her head and leaned in for a kiss. Almost embarrassed, Shepard pulled back with wide eyes. Alarmed, and scared she was being rejected, Ash opened her eyes and looked at Erisa with a terribly vulnerable gaze until Shepard covered her mouth and spoke. “Hangover plus morning breath. You really don’t wanna...”  Ashley nearly growled as she leant in towards Erisa again. “I’ll risk it. Now shut up and kiss me. Dumbass.” As their lips touched, Ash closed her eyes and Erisa couldn’t suppress a hungry groan before she responded eagerly to the request, mimicking Ashley's pose, one hand to a hip, and the other cupping the back of Ash’s neck, kissing her deeply, probing with her tongue and feeling the fire of passion ignite deep in her core.

With a husky voice that was short on breath and thick with lust, Ashley broke the kiss and spoke, "God, ‘Risa, do you have any idea what you do to me?"

Leaning her forehead against Ashley's, Shepard whispered quietly, "No more than you do to me, Miss Williams. I don’t know how the hell it happened, but I love you with such a love as I didn’t know even existed... and to be honest, if one of us doesn’t find the willpower to get out of this bed soon then I refuse to be held accountable for whatever follows." Erisa leant in and gave Ash another long, slow kiss before tearing herself away again. “It’s not every day I wake up to find a stunningly beautiful, poetically inclined devil dog in my bed.” Ashley blushed demurely, unused to the compliments, but still managed to playfully punch Erisa in the ribs. “Well, unless you figure out what to do about Alliance regs you’re not likely to find her in bed beside you often, if at all.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the comm. channel sounding end of watch and Shepard groaned, rolling away from Ashley with great reluctance. “Well, that’s reveille. You can grab the first shower if you want, Ash. I better call Karin and find some way to sneak you outta here.” She paused and grinned at Ashley as the brunette slipped out of bed, taking time to admire the view from where she lay, watching as her best friend walked into the small bathroom. “You’re definitely a bad influence, Chief. Got me sneaking around like a school girl playing hookey.” Ash laughed and stuck her head out of the bathroom door. “ _I’m_ a bad influence?  I was straight until I met you, dumbass. I think you win the worst influence award. Now shut up and call Chakwas, I’m starving.” Erisa simply laughed at the reply and rolled over to pick up her omnitool, hoping like hell Karin had an idea.  


	17. We Need Supplies...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> msiri = intimate friend  
> kumamayo = motherfuckers  
> dada kidogo = little sister

SSV Normandy, 10:00 hours

Since in reality their stop aboard the Citadel was little more than a chance to refuel the Normandy and to resupply their armoury with new, Spectre level equipment, Shepard had decided only a small team would accompany her aboard. As ship's Quartermaster, Petty Officer Postle was nominally responsible for what they were doing, but Shepard had included Ashley and Tali in the party going aboard. She would double check the new hard suits and their modifications, Ash would do the same for the new weapons and their corresponding upgrade packages, whilst lastly Tali'zorah would oversee the new tech coming aboard, such as next gen omnitools and biotic amplifiers.

As they stood in the airlock waiting for the Normandy’s decontamination protocols to run, Ashley keyed in a private comm. to Shepard’s helmet, an irritated tone to her normally smooth voice. “You do know I’m not spending the night in your cabin ever again if I have to crawl through the maintenance tubes between decks just to get out unseen, right?” Shepard had to hide a smirk and replied, “And I thought you said I was worth it.” It was Ash’s turn to hide a grin. “You are. But I have my dignity.” Shepard smiled softly as the protocols finished and the outer airlock doors slid open. “I’m working on it, _msiri_. Believe me, if there’s a way we can be together, I _will_ find it.”

Leaving the Normandy, the small team stepped off the gangway only to be confronted by a man wearing the uniform of an Alliance Admiral. Ash called them to attention and Shepard, Ashley and P.O. Postle snapped into position, saluting.

"Ten Hut!"

The imposing officer returned their salute then spoke, his face and body language made it clear he wasn't happy to see them. "At ease, marines. My name is Rear Admiral Mikhailovich, Fifth Fleet."

Shepard dropped her salute and stepped into the more relaxed 'ease' position. She wasn't particularly thrilled to be seeing Alliance brass, not when she wasn't expecting it. Nevertheless, she maintained her professionalism. "My apologies sir, we weren't told to expect you. I would have prepared a formal greeting, otherwise."

Mikhailovich sniffed in disdain, he clearly had an axe to grind but Shepard wondered why it was with them. "Spare me the pleasantries, Commander. I command the 63rd Scout Flotilla. You and the Normandy were slated for my unit after shakedown. Then the Council got their claws... Paws. Tentacles. Whatever. They got them on our ship. And you."

 _Oh great_ , Shepard thought, _just what I need right now, an Admiral pissed that Alliance Command gave his new toy to someone else to play with first_. Schooling her expression, she replied to his veiled accusation in the most neutral tone she could manage. "Captain Anderson made it clear to me that my assignment came from very high up in the brass, Admiral. I may still be Alliance, but right now I answer to the Council."

The Rear Admiral barely disguised his sneer. "Hmm. I don't begrudge the politicians' decision to throw you to the Council. It's an... opportunity." he said, picking his words to be insulting, yet not openly so. "What I do begrudge is this overdesigned piece of tin," he said, looking at the Normandy with disgust.

That got Shepard's back up and her carefully crafted facade became a scowl. "I would be careful what you say about my ship, Admiral. The Normandy's saved our lives a dozen times over."

"An exaggeration," Mikhailovich said with a disdainful sniff. "I've read your reports. This... experiment diverted billions from our appropriations bills. For the same price we could've had a heavy cruiser. But no, we had to make nice with the turians. Throw money at a co-developed boondoggle. I'm here to make an inspection, Commander. Normandy is an Alliance warship. I intend to see she's up to snuff."

Shepard stood her ground, having to conceal a smile. she'd always wanted to be able to put men like this in their place, and now she had the authority. "I'm afraid I can't allow that, sir. The Normandy may be an Alliance warship, but right now she's on loan to the Citadel. That means she's no longer in your chain of command." She left a defiant beat before adding the obligatory "Sir."

The Admiral's eyes narrowed at the insubordination, and his sneer became a scowl. "I believe there's something wrong with my ears. Did you just contradict me?"

Shepard nodded, meeting his gaze secure in her own authority. "Yes, Admiral, I believe I did. This ship is currently a Council vessel, under my command as a Council Spectre. You have zero authority to board and inspect _my_ ship so I recommend you don’t force the issue. Now, respectfully sir, please clear the gangway. My team and I have pressing Council business to attend to."

Mikhailovich frowned, clearly annoyed his bluff had been called. He had no authority here and he knew it. "Fine. Have it your way, Commander. But expect me to file a report on this."

Shepard gave him a salute and smiled sweetly, knowing she had him. "You do that, Admiral. In the meantime, I have a job to do." Watching the Admiral stalk away in defeat, she threw a grin over her shoulder to Ashley, “Is it wrong that I _really_ enjoyed that?”

Ash shook her head and smiled softly. “You know, that could come back to bite you in the ass, Commander.”

Erisa shrugged. “Eh, it was worth it. Come on, let’s get down to C-Sec and do what we came to do. We’ve still got to get to Noveria before any trail there goes cold.” Signalling forward, she led her small team towards the docking bay’s elevator.

As her small team stepped off the elevator into C-Sec headquarters, Shepard rapidly dispensed orders. "Alright, we're here. Petty Officer Postle, the C-Sec requisition office has access to the Spectre database and supply chains. You've got the req forms and here are the Spectre access codes and accounts you'll require." She handed him a small datachip. "It's only good for one use so be thorough. Chief Williams and crewman nar Rayya will accompany you to aid in verifying and assessing our new equipment. I suggest you take any advice they have to give. I want to report in to Captain Anderson while we're here. You have your assignments, I'll join you when I'm done. Dismissed." She returned their salutes and watched as they headed off towards the C-Sec req office before turning to head towards the main exit onto the Presidium. Before she got there though, a tall woman with press credentials and a camera drone intercepted her.

"Commander Shepard? Khalisah bint Sinan Al-Jilani, Westerlund News. Would you mind answering a few questions for our viewers?"

Shepard stopped and assessed the reporter. She'd never been very good at dealing with the press, especially public relations, and being ambushed had her on the back foot. "What sort of questions?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

The reporter maintained a light, airy smile and a relaxed demeanour, which put Shepard a little more at ease. "People back home have heard a lot of wild stories about you, Commander. I can give you the chance to set the record straight. What do you say?"

Shepard thought about it for a moment then slowly nodded, adding a proviso to the deal. "So long as you understand that I may not be able to answer all questions. Some things may be classified, others might be regarded as potentially sensitive. Agreed?"

Khalisah nodded, but her smile looked a little forced, a bit fake. "I'm sure our viewers will understand." With that, she tapped her omnitool and the camera drone came to life, a light in Shepard's face. "Humans have been trying to get the respect of the galactic community for the past 26 years. With that in mind, what are your feelings on being the first human Spectre?"

Standing at ease, Shepard did her best to be both diplomatic and patient, she wouldn't embarrass herself, the Corps or the Spectres by letting her usually sarcastic and snarky personality get the better of her. "The Spectres represent the best of every species in the galaxy. To be asked to join them is an honour."

The reporter nodded and continued on to the next question. "Some have said your appointment is the Citadel 'throwing humans a bone.' Have you encountered any situations where the Citadel asked you to place its needs before the needs of Earth?"

Erisa could smell the trap in that one a mile away and skilfully dodged the question. "The Council is concerned with the needs of the whole galactic community. We're part of that community now. Our needs are on their agenda, but we're one of many."

Khalisah looked a little annoyed at the commander's smooth answers, but pressed on, trying to force a reaction that was more tabloid than newsworthy. "You really do believe that, don't you? You've been given command of an advanced human warship for your missions. Is there anything you'd like to say about it?"

"Many details are still classified I'm afraid. I can tell you she's a fine ship, and has the best crew I've ever served with." Ha, let's see you make that sound bad, she thought to herself.

"Some members of that crew are aliens, as I recall. Do you think it was appropriate to hand Earth's most advanced warship over to the Citadel?"

That question managed to rile her a little, but she kept a straight face and calm voice, despite feeling the urge to deck the reporter who seemed to be after some kind of scandal rather than a news story. "I wasn't aware it had been 'handed over' to anyone. I'm in command, and last I checked I'm human. same goes for my crew."

Khalisah hid a smirk, she knew she was starting to hit a nerve. "Human, yes. But you do work for the Citadel now, Commander. One last question. Rumours back home say you're tracking a "rogue Spectre" named Saren. Do you have any comment on that?"

Shepard kept a straight face and deflected the last question, not at all interested in answering it. "I'm afraid I can't comment on what my current assignment may or may not be."

"Don't worry. We'll find out." The reporter's tone was entirely too provocative and Erisa had to just grit her teeth as the interview wrapped up. "The eyes of Earth are on you. Don't let us down. Thank you for your time, Commander Shepard." As the drone shut down and Khalisah walked away, Erisa ground her teeth. _Damn parasites, always more interested in scandal and celebrity than in reporting real news. Bitch is lucky I didn't slug her_. Shaking her head, Shepard decided not to bother reporting to Anderson. It'd be nice to see her 'dad' again, but she knew he'd just tell her to get back to the mission; that family time could wait. 

She was about to turn and head for the requisitions office when her omnitool chimed. Opening the channel, she was greeted by a C-Sec officer.

“Commander Shepard? I am sorry to bother you, this is Lieutenant Girard up in the docking ring, bay 488. I need your help.”

Shepard frowned and cast a glance back towards where her team had gone. “Okay, Girard, I’m listening but make it quick. I’m a busy woman.”

“Thank you, Commander. There's a woman here, uh... she was rescued from Batarian slavers a few weeks ago. She's from Mindoir. I guess she was taken. In the raid on your town.” The lieutenant sounded nervous, as if unsure how she’d react to being reminded of her childhood trauma.

“You mean the raid that killed my parents, wiped out half of New Praetoria and saw the rest sold into Batarian slavery? Don't mince words Girard, I'm a big girl, I don't need you to tip toe around the subject like I'm made of porcelain. They didn't make me a Spectre just because I'm pretty.”

Girard nodded, flushing a little at being called out. “Yes ma'am. Sorry ma'am. She got free somehow. Grabbed a gun from one of my guys. Now she's holed up here in docking bay four eight eight. She uh- She says she wants to die. I hoped you'd talk to her. It’s a long shot, but you went through the same thing. The raid. I figured maybe you could talk her down off the ledge.”

Shepard was surprised, she knew Mindoir had been raided primarily for slaves, but it was unusual to hear of any of them being rescued after thirteen years. Still, it gave her hope and she was all too happy to give the lieutenant any aid he required. “I'm not trained for that, but I'll do whatever I can to help. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

The relief on Girard’s face was obvious. “Anything you could do would be great. I don't want to...” It was plain he didn’t want to do anything that might hurt the poor woman further, something Erisa greatly appreciated. “She's been through enough. I'll have my men stand by for you.”

Terminating the call, Shepard placed another one to her team. “Ash, I’ll be in docking bay 488. A survivor from Mindoir has turned up, I have to help her, if I can. Meet me there when you’re done, but send Postle and Tali back to the Normandy.” Ashley nodded at the holo image of Shepard projected by her omnitool. “Of course, Commander. I understand completely. I’ll be there when we’re done.” She paused and lowered her voice. “Just... be careful ‘Risa. Doc Chakwas said you might be more affected by your past traumas, now that you’ve started letting your walls down.”

Erisa gave Ash _her_ smile and nodded. “I love that you look out for me. I’ll be careful, _msiri_.” Closing the call, Shepard headed for the elevator and rode it up to Bay 488.  After a short ride, she stepped out of the car and looked about. Bay 488 had exactly the same layout as the bay the Normandy was docked in, only this one was filled with cargo containers. A small C-Sec detachment was waiting for her, and Lieutenant Girard greeted her as she approached them.

“Commander. Glad to see you.”

Shepard nodded in greeting. “Only wish it were under better circumstances, LT. Where is she?”

Girard pointed down to a far section of the main gantry. “Down there, hiding behind those shipping containers. I have a sniper in position, but I don't think we'll need him. She's only a danger to herself. We've got a sedative to calm her down, but we can't get close to her. Every step we take gets her more wound up.”

Erisa frowned. “Yeah, well I'd imagine thirteen years in the hands of those Batarian _kumamayo_ wasn't exactly a picnic.” Unbuckling her combat harness and detaching her weapons from their hard points, she handed them to one of Girard’s men. “Here, give me the sedative. With any luck I won't need it. Pull your sniper back and tell your men to stand down, okay? I don't want anyone or anything that looks even vaguely threatening in this bay. If Citadel Tower gives you shit for interfering with their traffic control tell them it's a direct order from a Spectre.” Lastly, she unbuckled and pulled off most of her torso and arm plates, until she was left in her slim pressure suit; only the leg plates of her armour remaining.

The C-Sec officer nodded and took her armour from her for safe keeping. He was smart enough to understand she wanted to approach the traumatised survivor looking the least threatening as possible. “Understood Commander. Please, don't push her too hard. If she seems liable to pull the trigger, back off. Or walk away. I'm willing to wait her out.”

Shepard clapped him on the shoulder and forced a smile. “Relax Lieutenant, if she really is from Mindoir that makes her more important to me than you'll ever know. Now get moving, you've got your orders.”

Girard gave a last sigh and nodded, crossing his fingers. “Good luck, Commander.”

Unarmed and unarmoured, Erisa began her slow approach up the gantry, making her every move obvious, with her hands empty and out to her sides, in case she was being watched. She didn’t really want to get shot again. Maybe some ten feet from the container, she heard a young girl’s voice call out, filled with fear and on the verge of panic.

“S-Stop! What do you... what are you?”

The Afrikaans accent was unmistakable in that thin voice, she was from Mindoir, no doubt about it. Unable to see the young woman yet, Erisa stopped and spoke, her voice flat and calm. “My name is Shepard. Lieutenant Girard sent me to talk to you. What's your name?”

When the young voice came back, it was a little calmer, but filled with confusion, obviously afraid. “Animals don't get names. The Masters put their symbols on her. Hot metal all over her back. She screams when they do it.”

Shepard grit her teeth and schooled her expression. The bastards had branded her with slave markings, as if she had been nothing but cattle. Forcing her voice to remain calm, she focused on remembering what the shrinks who’d examined her after Mindoir had done. “You're not an animal,” she had to fix that squarely in the survivor’s mind. “Your parents? What did they call you? Do you remember them?” Shepard took a step forward and rounded the corner, her hands still at her sides. Now she could see the young woman. She was gaunt and pale, her head shaved close to eliminate fleas and lice, while there were scars about her wrists and throat, as if she’d worn shackles and a collar for a long time.

“She remembers a lot of things. Talitha. They call her that. Sh-she doesn't remember the rest. Leave her alone.” The last words were a piteous plea that tore at Erisa’s heart, and as she looked into the woman’s eyes, she recognized that name. _Oh no... Oh, Talitha, you poor child. What have they done to you?_ Tears sprang to her eyes, unbidden, but she blinked them back.

“What happened to your parents, Talitha? What happened to Benjen and Marla?”

The young woman, the grown up little girl that Erisa used to babysit, ran a hand over her shaved head as she tried to remember, the gun in her other hand trained shakily on Shepard. “There's - she sees them. They're yelling. Run. Hide. They hit the masters. But the masters, they have lights and hoses. Daddy's-- He's melting! Sh- she doesn't want to see that! Don't make her look. Don't look! Stupid, stupid!”

Shepard had to push aside her own memories, forcing away the images of Talitha as a precocious five year old always wanting piggy back rides, or her hair braided. “I know it hurts Talitha, I'm sorry. But you need to face it, to deal with this. What happened to them? Think.”

Tears dripped down a dirty face. “When she thinks, water comes out of her eyes. The masters beat her when she wastes water. So she doesn't think anymore. She sees them. Mommy and Daddy. Burning in white light. Melting, Going to pieces. They can't even say anything to her. They're dead Shepard!” Her shout was both accusing and a plea for help at the same time. “They try to save her and the masters burn them. Can she stop remembering now? Please?”

The begging was almost too much, but Erisa hardened her heart. “I was on Mindoir too, Talitha. It’s me, Eri. Do you remember me? My parents, Ronald and Gayle, they died in the raid too.”

Talitha shook her head rapidly, and almost spat out her next words. “Lying. You get hit for lying. Get the buzz or the burning. Can't be there.” Shepard thought she saw a spark of recognition in the girl’s haunted eyes, and it was confirmed with the next vitriolic accusation. “Why are you alive?! Why aren't you like her? Broken. Only fit to dig or carry.”

Erisa found more and more memories of Mindoir flooding back, but she stemmed the tide by focusing all her hate and anger on the Batarians who’d done this to them both. “For a while I _was_ broken, Talitha. I lost my whole family. My friends. My childhood. I thought I’d lost you too. I had to pull myself up and keep going, I told myself I wasn’t going to let them win.”

Talitha was close to babbling, but she sensed she was making some headway as she took another step towards the girl. “You lose your mommy and daddy. But you don't dig. You don't carry. You stand up. She wishes she could stand up.”

“How did you get here, ‘Litha?” Shepard asked softly, cautiously, “Did you escape?

Talitha shook her head quickly, almost shying away from Shepard’s approach. “She can't escape. They have chains. Wires. Needles. You go too far, they take your brains away. Animals like her come. Animals with guns. They make the masters explode. She tries to fix the masters. So they won't be mad at her. She puts all the reds and purples back in, but they don't move. The other animals take her.” That had Erisa absolutely seething with hatred, the visual of them torturing and breaking her little friend forced her to grit her teeth and take a deep breath

“It’s ok ‘Litha, you were afraid. All you'd known for 13 years was the 'masters' abuse. So you tried to heal them. I understand.” It was classic Stockholm Syndrome, only taken to an extreme. The Batarian slavers had been more than her masters, they’d become foster parents. Talitha’s level of attachment was only natural. But that didn’t make it right, nor did it do anything to quell the hate growing in Erisa’s chest.

“She doesn't want to see the other animals. They're not real. They can't be real. They can't see her. If the animals can see her, then this is real. But it can't be. The wires. The chains. The hitting. This doesn't happen to her. It's another girl. A dirty girl. A stupid girl. She deserves it!” Shepard finally started to understand why her childhood friend spoke in the third person... it was a defence mechanism. Talitha was disassociating herself from the torture and abuse she’d been through and Erisa had to force herself not to think of the ways that abuse may have changed as Talitha had matured. “It-- It happens to her. Doesn't it Eri? They see her, so it's real. Eri can see her, so it's real. She doesn't want it to be real.”

Shepard took a final step forward and slowly pulled the sedative out of a pocket in her pressure suit. “Talitha, this will make you sleep. If you go to sleep they'll take you to a place where you can get better, a place where the masters can never hurt you again.”

The poor girl looked hopeful at that, and her voice was just as it had been when Erisa had watched over her some thirteen years ago. “Will she have bad dreams?”

Shepard swallowed and told the biggest lie she’d ever had to. “No, no more dreams Talitha. Eri will be there too, I’ll read to you, just like I used to. Every night.”

Talitha took the sedative and dry swallowed it, the pain in her eyes easing for a moment as an old memory of their shared past briefly emerged. “She'd like that. It hurts when she-- when I remember me. But she wants to remember.”

The sedative took quick effect, and Erisa caught the young woman as she swooned. Lifting her up into her arms, Shepard carried her back to where Girard and his men waited, Ashley beside them. Tears ran down Erisa’s face openly and she whispered soothing words to Talitha as walked, gently handing her over to a medical team that arrived to take care of her.

“How is she, commander?” Girard enquired.

“She took the sedative, Lieutenant. She wants to get better.” Her voice became fierce as she wiped away her tears and looked up at the C-Sec officer. “You look after her, you hear me Girard? You do whatever it takes to get her help.”

He nodded swiftly, clearly concerned for Talitha’s wellbeing himself. “She was only six when they took her. Why the hell are we out here if we can't even keep one little girl safe?”

Erisa’s face went hard and cold. “To make sure the people who do these things pay. It isn't the severity of the punishment that deters crime; it's the certainty. Bastards like that have to know that we _will_ find them, and we _will_ make them pay. In blood.”

“So we clean up the wreckage, shoot the guilty and hope everyone else learns not to mess with us? Great.”

Shepard gave him a hard stare as he turned to leave with his men. “Sometimes that's all we can do, Lieutenant.”

Once they were alone on the docks, Erisa dropped all pretences and went straight to Ashley, hugging her tightly, not caring if the Chief’s armour would leave bruises. Ash just hugged her back, putting all the love she could into the embrace as they stood there, cheek to cheek. Finally, Ash pulled back to look at Shepard, her eyes filled with concern. “I told you to be careful, Skip,” she said fondly.

Erisa sniffed and gave her a playful jab to the ribs. “I was, dumbass. It’s not my fault our lost survivor turned out to be Talitha Kotze.” Ash raised an eyebrow in query, even as she gently brushed away the last of Erisa’s tears. Shepard sighed and gave her a wan smile, nuzzling her hand a moment before she finally stepped back.

“I used to babysit her, back when we still had a colony to call home. I’d look after her when our parents would get together to play cards.”  Ashley winced and reached across to squeeze Erisa’s shoulder. “At least she’s free now. I mean, it’ll take time and a lot of help, but now she can get better, right?”

Shepard nodded as she started to buckle her hard suit back on, a faint smile creeping onto her sad face. “Yeah, there’s that at least. C’mon, you better get me out of here Chief. I’ve got a powerful urge to kill the next Batarian I see, and with my Spectre status, I’d get away with it.”

\----------------------------------

SSV Normandy, 12:00 hours

Back at bay 477, Tali’zorah and Petty Officer Postle had been waiting for them. No sooner were they back through the airlock and aboard the Normandy than Shepard contacted  Joker over the ship’s audio. "Sound a call for the field team to assemble in the conference room, Moreau." Looking across to the Petty Officer, she gave a half smile. "Good job, Postle. Detail a couple of marines to help you get this all loaded and then unpack it at the armoury. We'll be down shortly for fittings and modifications. Oh, and make sure all stations have finished resupplying, that includes the mess hall, CIC and engineering." She returned his salute then looked at Ash, a playful look in her eye. "We need to talk later, our conversation with the Admiral this morning made me realise something. You want to join me in my cabin for dinner tonight? Just us?"

Ashley got a very curious look on her face, wondering just what Erisa meant. "Yeah, I'd like that. I'll come by at nineteen hundred. Now c'mon, ma'am, we better not keep the others waiting." 

They made their way down the length of the command deck, through the CIC to the conference room, where Shepard addressed the gathered members of Normandy’s ground assault teams.

Okay, gather round, gather round..." she said, waiting for the last murmurs and moments of jostling to subside, "Postle and the knuckle draggers are loading our new gear as we speak, so I want all ground team personnel down at the armoury in one hour for fittings and then personalization of weapons, armour and equipment. When we hit Noveria we're going in with all new gear, so I want full checks on all systems, we're not going groundside until I'm satisfied there's zero potential for teething problems. Dismissed people, see you soon."

SSV Normandy, 13:30 hours

The entire roster of Normandy ground personnel had gathered in the ship’s armoury for the unpacking, fitting and modding of their new field equipment. From hard suits and weaponry to omnitools and bio amps, the armoury had undergone a complete refit, courtesy of the office of the Spectres. Shepard had a funny feeling she might find herself being questioned about that at her first performance review, but she also had a much stronger feeling that if she hadn’t addressed the state of their gear she probably wouldn’t live long enough to be reviewed in the first place. It was a surprisingly cheerful occasion for something so mundane, but Ashley had summed it up nicely when Shepard had first wondered at the air of festivity in the armoury. “Look at it this way, ‘Risa,” she’d said with a gentle smile; one Shepard had noticed she’d taken to using whenever she didn’t understand something that most people seemed to instantly ‘get’. “It’s a chance to open presents, play with some new toys and maybe forget the bad times for a while, yeah?” And, as usual whenever Ash explained something, Shepard could see what she meant. So she’d snuck off to the mess hall and quietly returned with a crate of beers, only to have received an uproarious welcome on her arrival as the drinks were passed around.

She’d remembered to include a few dextro brews as well, for Tali and Garrus, but the surprising thing was that even the normally soft spoken and reserved Liara T’soni had joined in. Shepard had smiled at that, it was good to see them all gelling as a dynamic team and she supposed it had been a mix of time, combat missions, shared experiences and, if she was perfectly honest, the shared loss of Kaidan that had brought them all together so well. Ash sat beside her on the corner of one of the armoury benches, their knees touching. Shepard knew she should move, to at least maintain an air of distance between her and the Chief when they were in public, but within the ground team there was no point. How she and Ash felt about one another wasn’t exactly a secret; not amongst this lot. Smiling, she leant against Ashley for a moment then stood, calling for silence. “Alright alright, settle down, you lushes.” The human expression gave her friends and squad mates more cause for pause than her call for silence, but she went with it anyway. “Okay, thanks to some fine work by Petty Officer Postle and the deep pockets of the Spectres, we now have the absolute latest in _everything_ , so what say we check it all out huh?” That was met by a roar of approval and she watched, a fond smile pushing past her usual reserve, as they all started opening weapon crates, hard suit pods and wetware kits. Walking amongst the festive unpacking, Erisa called off designations from a holopad. “Wrex and Williams, one suit of mark nine Predator-H body armour; complete with mark eight kinetic exoskeletons and shield interfaces!” Wrex gave a huge grin of approval and a bellowing “Oh yeah, come to Papa,” as he found his hard suit; an easy feat given it was the only suit of krogan body armour in the refurbished armoury. Ash just threw a warm smile at Erisa and mouthed her thanks instead. Going down the list, Shepard continued to match armour to owner.

“Liara, one mark eight Colossus suit; light, with integrated physics dampeners.” The asari smiled and nodded her thanks even as she opened a crate containing mark nine Savant omnitools and biotic amplifiers. Perfect upgrades for the biotics and techies amongst them. “Garrus, you and me got lucky pal, mark nine Assassin suits, complete with integrated tactical cloaks and shield interfaces.” The turian sniper gave her an appreciative nod and a wry smile, too busy unpacking a weapon mod crate marked N7 on the side.

“Tali, I think you’ll owe the Petty Officer a drink for this,” Shepard said with a gentle smirk. “He managed to find a mark eight quarian Liberator hard suit, with medical exoskeleton and a shield interface.” Erisa gave their little quarian a smile, but it was as hard as ever to get a read on her emotions with her frosted faceplate concealing her features, and Tali seemed a bit quiet. It wasn’t until a synthesised sniffle came through her helmet’s external speakers that she realised their little sister was crying. Shepard found herself the target of a flying quarian and it was all she could do to hug back, a little perplexed; but happy to do so. Then she remembered her talks with Tali in the engineering bay and realised that all of the gifts of new armour, weapons and equipment must have been a lot like what her family had done for her before she’d left to go on Pilgrimage. And now her new family was doing the same. It was happy crying that was coming from a slightly overwhelmed and quite clingy Tali’zorah. Dropping the holopad, Erisa hugged her tight and smiled. “You’re welcome, little sister. I already let you get hurt once, just making sure you don’t have to spend any more time in medbay,” she said teasingly. That got a sniffling chuckle from the little quarian and she disengaged from the friendly hug. “Maybe I should get shot more often,” she quipped, “my birthday _is_ coming up soon.” Erisa shook her head and punched Tali in the shoulder lightly. “Don’t you dare, _dada kidogo_. Wrex’d have my ass.”

 “Okay,” she continued, picking up the holopad, “We’re fully restocked on all our regular range of grenades and ammunition, as well as SFGs and pulse emitters. Weapons... we’ve replaced all heavy pistols with M77 Paladins, they’re basically next gen Carnifex’s, with your choice of ultralight materials, upgraded thermal magazines and power amps... our new SMGs come courtesy of the Alliance, with N7 Hurricanes available for use. We picked up recoil dampers and upgraded heat sinks in the deal. Shotguns... we’re packing the new M11 Wraiths with advanced smart chokes and shredder munitions. As for assault rifles, we can again thank the Alliance’s spec ops division for providing N7 Valkyries. Petty Officer Postle also managed to swing a deal on a crate of M76 Revenant light machine guns. The mods we picked up for those are mainly stability dampers and extended barrels. Last but not least we’ve scored a handful of N7 Valiants and M90 Indra sniper rifles, complete with thermal scopes and hyper velocity barrels. That’s about it, boys and girls. Take your time to make sure you get your hard suits fitted properly and then pick your preferred arms and modify them to your personal specs. We’re a day and a half out from Noveria so expect mission packets and a briefing within 24 hours.” All announcements finished, she set aside the holopad and joined her squad mates, no... her _friends_ , in the long task of refitting their entire combat inventory.


	18. There's Always A Loophole...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> msiri = intimate friend  
> mndani = sweetheart

SSV Normandy, 18:00 hours

Shepard walked into her quarters and looked around, grimacing a little at the state she’d let her rooms get into. The place would need a bit of a tidy up before dinner. So she stripped out of her utilitarian fatigues, tossing them in the cleaning bin, and slipped on a comfortable pair of jeans and a pair of old fashioned Skechers, good comfortable running shoes. She still had on a white, one sleeved tank-top; the sleeve a personal piece of tailoring to cover her acid burns, and lastly she reached into her wardrobe and threw on a red and blue plaid flannel shirt, tying the trailing ends into a knot just beneath her small breasts. She’d never really been into fashion, having spent most of her life in uniform, but when she had occasion to don civvies it was usually what she wore now; jeans and an old flannel shirt that very much reminded her of the old homestead, back when she was just a farmer’s kid working the fields or tinkering on their near-ancient tractor. As it turned out there wasn't really much to do in preparation for dinner other than give the place a quick tidy up. Her room was pretty austere, so she hung clean towels in the shower and made sure all her laundry was picked up and tossed in the cleaner with her uniform. The front half of the room was fairly empty, having only the small entry table, a cabinet that acted as her bar, and her small dining set. Then there was the shower and closet, and finally her desk, book case and bed toward the rear of the room. With all the laundry picked up and her bed made, there wasn't really anything else to do, so she moved to her desk to see what paperwork she could finish up before dinner. She’d checked the system for logged calls and new mail, happy to see a reply from Admiral Hackett, before Joker interrupted her thoughts. "There's a message coming in over the Citadel's ambassadorial channel ma'am. Patching it through now." Shepard frowned a little, fearing it might be Udina, but when she moved to her desk and opened the channel on her holodisplay, she was surprised to see the Consort looking back at her. "Sha'ira. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess this isn't a social call." The asari returned the commander's false smile with one just as fake and nodded.

"Indeed, Commander. I'm repaying my debt to you, in matter of fact. I haven't been able to find Saren Arterius, he's dropped completely off of the grid; no one anywhere seems to know anything; or if they do they're not willing to talk. Even to me. But I did come across some information you may find useful. Now, if my sources are reliable, and I assure you they are, your next destination is Noveria. I thought you may find it interesting to know that Binary Helix owns one of the research facilities there. The same Binary Helix that lists one Saren Arterius as a major investor; with Matriarch Benezia holding the position of executor of his holdings."

Shepard narrowed her eyes. "Your sources are well informed, Consort. You might want to suggest they be a little less thorough when it comes to my affairs. I don't like being spied on, it irks me; and I assure you, my being irked is not a good thing."

Sha'ira rolled her eyes and gave a humourless laugh. "Your threats don't bother me, Commander, so you may as well drop the bravado. Besides, if my sources weren't thorough then I wouldn't be able to tell you that Lady Benezia landed at Port Hanshan three days ago with a force of asari commandos and a not inconsiderable amount of freight before heading immediately to Binary Helix's facility at Peak 15." She smiled sweetly, though the look never touched her eyes. "There, I think that more than settles my half of our arrangement, no?"

Shepard held the asari's gaze a second, running her tongue over her teeth as she thought quickly, then relented. "Agreed. Your debt to me is cleared. Thank you for your help, Consort." The politically savvy asari nodded in return then terminated the transmission from her end. No further words had been necessary, and Shepard knew she'd burnt that bridge. Not that she cared, the Consort was as bad as the rest of the Citadel's politicians; worse even, as she cloaked her agenda behind a pretty smile and lying eyes that offered more than she ever gave. Erisa was starting to think she should have left Oraka's smear campaign alone. _No,_ she told herself, _no, if I hadn't helped I wouldn't know now what to expect on Noveria._ Having to play the Consort's game may have left a sour taste in her mouth, but the intel was worth it.

At 1845 hrs, Culinary Specialist Sally Ryder delivered the meal settings as requested, with the warming platters, schooners and a six-pack of Castle lager; on ice. She efficiently set the table, with a linen table cloth and napkins, china and real silverware. It was perhaps the one real advantage of being the ship's commander, but Shepard was still surprised, if not a little uncomfortable, with the level of service. Command of a ship was still very new to her, she was far more used to the life of a marine than that of a naval officer. She was allowed a small private stock, in her case mostly a bottle or three of Don Julio, and the specialist would provide private meals in her cabin on demand. She'd worked on ships with both extremes; once, with a Navy captain who never ate with the crew, and then with Anderson, whose earlier career as a Marine meant he didn't ever _not_ eat with the crew in the mess. Shepard found that she fell more in the middle. With her reputation as the Ice Queen she preferred to eat alone and undisturbed, but she did so in the mess hall so the men and women under her command could still see her as one of them. Even if she wasn’t. Shepard had stocked some stores in the private locker just in case, old favourites that the galley just never got right no matter how much they tried; but this was the first time she'd used them since boarding the Normandy. The meal she had selected was one of those old favourites and she hoped Ashley would enjoy it. She thanked Specialist Ryder for the effort and the older woman smiled in response, "It’s my pleasure, Commander. Don’t have much call to practice the finer culinary arts aboard a warship so I enjoyed the challenge. Just leave the stuff here when you're done. I'll come in tomorrow morning after breakfast and clean it up for you. See you tomorrow, ma'am!"

She was gone as fast as she’d come, and Shepard smiled softly as her mind drifted to what might lie ahead tonight. Mostly she just hoped it went well... she hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d told Ashley it had been six years since her last real relationship had ended; and nearly seven since she’d planned anything close to a date. Picking up the remote for her cabin’s sound system she put on some light rock from the 1970’s and went back to the table and lit a candle. She had just finished pouring a cold bottle of Castle into each of the frosted schooners when the door chirped again.

Shepard dropped the empty bottles back into the ice bucket beside the table as she yelled, "Come on in, Ashley..." Her friend walked in the door, a somewhat nervous smile on her face as she greeted Shepard. “Hey ‘Risa. I, uh, hope this is okay,” she said as she did a quick turn. The Chief was dressed much the same as Shepard was,  in tight jeans that hugged her athletic figure, running shoes and a tight black tee under a leather jacket. “I managed to grab most of my gear from the barracks before we pulled out of Eden Prime but I didn’t really have much in the way of civvies.” Erisa forced herself to look up from Ash’s distractingly tight shirt and she gave her friend a soft smile. “Don’t worry about it Ash, it’s not like I have much of a fashion sense myself,” she said wryly as she did a turn of her own for Ashley. Ash’s nervous smile turned into a grin as she walked through the ready room and into Erisa’s cabin proper. “Well, if there’s anyone than can make the ‘Farmer Jane’ look sexy, it’s you.” Erisa smirked and handed her a beer. “Shall we eat?"

Ash smiled and nodded, "Sure, I’m starved.” Raising her beer, she took a mouthful and swallowed, the tip of her pink tongue collecting the foamy head that had clung to her top lip. That seemingly innocent act was so intensely erotic that Erisa completely lost all train of thought and her body involuntarily trembled. Shepard tipped her head slightly to the side, wondering if Ashley was teasing her on purpose, or if she really had no idea what she had just done. S _he doesn't even realize what she does to me just by being herself, does she? God help me!_  

Erisa took a deep breath to settle herself and sat down before she introduced dinner, not surprised when Ashley joined her without standing on ceremony. "I hope you don’t mind but I went rather traditional with dinner, the mess hall does a fine job feeding us but every now and then you feel like something from home, eh. Tonight, we’ve got Boerewors with chakalaka and sweet honeyed vetkoek for dessert and, of course, a good lager. I hope you like it all." She smiled a little nervously, no longer sure her more traditional choices had been such a good idea.

Ashley gave a wry smile, "I have no idea what most of that is, but I’m guessing it’s South African in origin? I'm sure it’ll be delicious ‘Risa," she said, reaching across the table to squeeze Erisa’s gloved hand reassuringly.

Shepard pulled the dishes out of the warmers, removed their covers and placed one at each setting, explaining what they were as she did so, “Well, boerewors is really just a kind of sausage, mostly minced pork and lamb that’s been seasoned with toasted coriander seed, black pepper, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. The chakalaka is kind of a sweet and spicy relish, lots of tomato, onion, grated carrot, chilli and garlic, all slow cooked with grated cabbage and diced cauliflower.” Erisa gave a fond smile that was tinged with a little sadness. “My mother made the best chakalaka in all of New Praetoria, my dad used to say.” She gave a slight cough to cover the momentary lump in her throat and took a mouthful of lager. “Vetkoek is just deep fried dough drizzled with honey. When it’s done right it’s all crisp outside but warm and fluffy inside. It was my favourite as a kid; still is really.”

Ash smiled and they both tucked in; and while the Gunny Chief was very happy with the skill of chef, the commander was amazed at the job Specialist Ryder had done. Producing high quality food specific to a not exactly huge ethnic group usually took a great deal of practice but the Navy CS had done wonders to reproduce the food she’d eaten as a child. While they ate, Shepard kept the beer flowing and the two marines told tall tales from their past deployments, including their separate times at the Recruit Training Depot in Macapâ, Brazil, Erisa’s experiences in the jungles of Central America as an infiltrator cadet, some of the Chief’s more humorous stories from her time at Fort Charles Upham on Titan and the earlier years Shepard had spent as an N4 aboard the SSV Munroe.. Finally though, as they were finishing up the honey sweetened vetkoek, they got around to the reason they were having dinner in the first place.

 "Okay 'Risa,” Ash said with a smile over her beer, “I'll admit it, you've had me curious all day. What did you mean when you said our conversation with the Admiral gave you an idea?"

Erisa smiled and wiped her mouth on a napkin before leaning back in her chair and reaching for her beer. "I guess you've waited long enough," she said with a teasing smile. "Remember when I reminded him that the Normandy was no longer in his chain of command?"

Ash nodded, a grin slipping out. "I've never seen anyone talk back to an Admiral like that before, you nearly had me choking when you asked him clear the gangway."

Shepard chuckled as she remembered Rear Admiral Mikhailovich's near apoplectic expression when she'd refused to allow his so-called inspection. "Yeah," she admitted cheekily, "that was kinda fun. But do you remember the reason I gave?"

Ash paused and thought for a minute. "You said that the Normandy was on loan to the Council and under your command as a Spectre."

The commander nodded, swallowing a mouthful of beer. "Well, that got me thinking and I can't believe I hadn't realised it before. See, if the Normandy is currently a Council vessel, and I'm commanding her under the auspices of the Spectres... then that puts the crew, the _entire_ crew, under Council jurisdiction; albeit temporarily."

Ash nodded slowly as she listened, following Shepard's reasoning so far, but she still didn't see what Erisa was getting at. So the commander decided to be a little more direct. She reached across the small table they were sharing and took Ashley's hand in hers, lifting it to her lips and kissing Ash's knuckles gently. The contact sent a warm shiver of delight right through Ashley, and she felt the butterflies in her stomach start to flutter. The look in Shepard's big, dark eyes was both devious and desirous and Ash couldn't help but wonder where this was going as a pang of want suddenly tore through her.

Erisa gazed deep into her best friend's eyes; the eyes of the woman she loved, and revealed her master stroke. "Well, if I'm commanding this entire operation as a Spectre, that means Spectre regulations take precedence over Alliance regulations..." She paused and then smiled slowly as she saw the light dawn in Ashley's eyes as she finally realised what Erisa was driving at. Ash shook her head, unable to stop a grin from spreading over her face, but she had to be sure as to what Erisa was hinting. When she spoke her voice was almost breathless, a hushed mix of hopeful anticipation and cautious optimism. "Would I be right in guessing you've found a distinct lack of regulations involving fraternization?"

Shepard grinned slyly, expending a great deal of effort in stopping herself from launching over the table and into Ash's arms. "Not a one." Her grin did turn serious for a moment. “I have to admit though, it’s pretty shaky ground. I wouldn’t want to base a legal defence on it, but as far as regulations go... it’s a loophole. One I’m willing to exploit... but only if you are.”

Ashley could suddenly feel herself trembling. What had begun as a fantasy, then turned into a crush and later a tryst, was now being offered up to her as a reality; should she but have the courage to reach out and take it. She couldn’t quite believe it and something was giving her reason to pause. If they did this, then it would be real. No more telling herself she was still straight, no more pretending that she was just going through a phase. It would be _real_ , her and Erisa together as a proper couple. Her quiet reflection seemed, to Shepard, to last a lifetime; and the commander started to get a horrid knot in the pit of her stomach. A dread feeling that somehow this had all been a flirtatious game to Ashley, something to indulge in when she knew it could never be a reality and now that it could, she was having second thoughts. That fear was one not even her rigid self discipline could hide and looking up from her thoughts, Ashley saw it. That was all it took; in that one moment she knew she wanted this more than anything. She loved Erisa completely, with the same kind of devotion she’d only ever felt towards the Corps. More than anything, she wanted, no _needed,_ Erisa Shepard in her life, forever.

Her voice was soft as she spoke, choosing her words carefully. “I want this Erisa, I do. But you need to know I don’t take relationships, romantic ones especially, for granted. They’re important to me... I don't do casual. Is that a problem?"

The words that came from Ash’s lips did something Shepard had once thought impossible; they thawed her heart utterly. Every last vestige of the Ice Queen melted away and her eyes softened as she whispered her response, "Absolutely not, Miss Williams, absolutely not. I feel the same. It’s been eight years since I felt this way for anyone, for six of those I had my heart so frozen in ice I never thought I’d feel it again; or that I’d want to. You changed that... you’ve made me _feel_ again, I can never repay you for that."

Ashley could feel her pulse racing, she was giddy; and it wasn’t the beer doing it either. No one had ever made her feel like she did now, and she never wanted it to end. Silence fell between them and slowly, Erisa reached out to take Ashley’s hand, holding it gently in her gloved one, their fingers intertwining and her thumb gently caressing Ash’s. Quietly she stood and drew Ash out of her chair, and as the stereo began to play ‘Brown Eyed Girl’, the two women drifted towards the bed. Reaching the foot, they parted only slowly; their hands still joined as they moved along either side and then together drew back the covers. Each knelt on the bed and they came together in the middle as Ashley cupped ‘Risa's face and they kissed for the first time that night, long and deep. Shepard reached up and slid the leather jacket over Ashley’s shoulders and down her arms until she had to drop her hands from Erisa’s face. Taking the initiative back, Shepard leant in and started kissing the side of her neck, her teeth nipping gently as together they threw aside the leather jacket and Ashley’s hands started to undo the knot in Erisa’s shirt. It wasn’t long before that too hit the floor; and Shepard wrapped an arm around Ashley’s waist, pulling their hips together as her gentle kisses to the side of the neck turned more eager and playful. As they slowly swayed to the music together in an unconscious, perfect rhythm, Ash moaned softly with pleasure and her hands moved up and down Erisa’s back, stroking along the length of her spine; caressing it with feather-light touches. All the soft teasing soon became too much for Shepard and she let out a moan of her own, her breath hot and moist against the side of Ashley’s neck. It had been a long time since either of them had gotten any, and the constant teasing and flirting of the last two weeks meant they were both already feeling the need for some kind of release.

Ashley’s hands slid down Shepard’s back again, but didn’t stop and continued over the curve of her ass, strong hands started to gently knead and fondle the cheeks. Erisa sighed breathily into Ash’s shoulder and she slowly reached down to grasp the hem of that tight black tee, pulling the shirt down so the tip of her tongue could paint a wet line across Ashley’s collarbone and up to her ear. “So which are you, Williams,” she whispered huskily, “an ass girl, or more into tits?” That drew a seductive laugh from Ashley, who gave Erisa’s cheeks a firm squeeze before one hand slid up underneath the white tank top, fingertips grazing over a taut dark abdomen before gently brushing the underside of a small breast; flowing around its curve and contours. “Well...” she whispered softly into Shepard’s ear, “I might have to make a thorough inspection before I can decide that.”  Erisa grinned and nipped at Ashley’s earlobe playfully. “I think we can arrange that.”

Pulling away slightly, Shepard made enough room that she could reach down and grasp the hem of her tank top then peeled it upward and over her head, tossing it aside. The gentle candlelight shone off of her dark skin, creating strangely pretty patterns amongst the burns and Ash felt her breath catch in her throat. "My God, ‘Risa... You're beautiful!" Shepard flushed at the compliment; so very glad that Ashley could accept her scars and Ash suddenly wanted, _needed_ to feel Erisa against her, skin to skin. Quickly she reached down for the bottom of her shirt and dragged the tight piece of clothing up and over her head, tossing it aside to lie near her jacket, forgotten and unneeded. The movement had ruffled her long, brunette hair and it collapsed from its confinement, billowing down to drape across her shoulders and fall down her back. This time it was Erisa’s turn to gasp hotly. She’d never imagined anyone as gorgeous as Ashley could exist. Leaning in, she embraced Ash passionately, chest to chest and kissed her way around Ashley's neck, separating slowly and bending to kiss her breasts and taking a nipple gently in her mouth, suckling, and rolling the tip with her tongue. Ashley gasped loudly, and she pulled herself in tight against her partner, eliciting a groan of pure desire from Erisa. Thought seemed to drop away as instinct and desire took over and Ash’s hands fumbled with the buttons at Shepard’s waist, eventually getting them undone. Slipping her hands hungrily along Erisa’s waistline, she sank her fingers beneath the waist of the jeans and pushed both them and a pair of black panties slowly down to Shepard's knees.  Strong hands drifted down her arms and came to rest on her hands, sliding them back up a pair of muscular dark thighs, over warm, nude hips and up a flat abdomen until they were cupping a small pair of utterly perfect breasts; dark nipples hard against her palms. Ash drank in the sight of her partner’s body and shuddered in expectation and sudden wanton need. Erisa’s own voice was thick with her lust as she spoke, a teasing tone in her words. “Inspect away, _msiri_.”  Ashley suddenly grinned and did just that, gently caressing and exploring the unfamiliar sensation of another woman’s breasts. Eventually she gave very satisfied hum and slid her hands down Shepard’s bare back, fingertips picking up old gunshot and shrapnel wounds until she was kneading that perfect ass again. “I think I’m definitely an ass girl, ma’am.” It was impossible they’d only met a fortnight ago. It seemed so long ago now, Ashley felt like she'd known Shepard forever.

Shepard’s hands had been busy themselves, slowly peeling those almost skin tight jeans down Ash’s perfect thighs; followed by a lacy thong. She’d had to grin at that; it seemed they’d both been anticipating tonight.  As naked as they could get without moving, they embraced again, pressing their warm bodies together hip to hip and chest to chest as they fell into another long, deep kiss that seemed to go on forever. Shepard could feel her core pulsing insistently with her need, and unless she was very much mistaken, the damp heat that rested against her upper thigh meant Ashley felt the same. Lifting her knees one at a time, she wriggled them out of her jeans then twisted on one of them, using the arm still wrapped around Ash's body to guide her back towards the mattress. When Shepard leaned in hard and pushed Ashley back with pressure of a kiss, she started to resist the fall, but when she felt the solid support of Erisa's arm around her back; she relaxed into it, allowing Shepard to lay her out on the bed, gently easing her own weight down on top. Dragging one leg free of her jeans at last, Erisa threw her leg over Ashley’s body and settled her hips over her partner’s. She could feel Ash's heart hammering in her chest, so she eased off a bit, damping her ardour so as to not put too much pressure on the other woman. The gentle tension in Ash's body and her passionate fumbling were enough to remind Shepard that this was new to Ashley, she had never done this with another woman before, and so Erisa slowed her approach, letting her partner get used to the differences.

Erisa sat up on her knees and reached back, finally ridding them both of their jeans, and Ashley took the opportunity to once again gaze adoringly at Shepard, memorising every curve and contour, every scar and beautiful blemish on her amazing body. Her hands found her way to Shepard’s hips and she caressed ever upward until she was toying with those dark nipples again. Ashley felt a rush of self-confidence as Erisa closed her eyes and whimpered softly in what looked, and sounded like bliss as her hands joined Ash’s in manipulating her breasts. Shepard’s bottom lip was caught between her teeth as Ashley affectionately explored her body, leaning up to alternately kiss and lick at her nubian dark skin, and run her tongue across every muscle, eliciting gasps and hums from out of her partner. Shepard gently ground her hips against Ashley’s and her questing hands slid down strong, toned arms and over creamy white shoulders until she could explore Ash's breasts with her hands, cupping them softly, getting a feel for their sensitivity, and gently thumbed her nipples. It all seemed perfect, and Ashley was definitely enjoying it, moaning and occasionally gasping with pleasure, moving with Shepard's coaxing ministrations. Shepard gradually got bolder, grinding her hips into Ash’s before she bent at the waist and used her mouth to explore, suckling and teasing her lover’s nipples until they were hard. Ash got so caught up in the sensations so new to her that she gave up any attempts to explore Shepard's body; she just held on and followed her partner's movements, and that was ok by Erisa, what better way to teach Ash how to pleasure another woman than by starting on her?

‘Risa's tongue started to roam. She left one hand kneading a breast she had teased to a point, while her tongue worked its way down Ashley’s defined torso, tracing along the chief’s own array of battle scars. The other hand started stroking Ash's thigh, gradually working higher and more to the inner thigh than the top. The first stroke that ran across Ashley's hot, dripping core sent a shockwave through the brunette that finally caused her whole body to shudder as she whispered, "God yesssss!" Shepard continued to massage an eager little pink nub with her thumb, and ran gentle circles through her delicate folds below. Ashley was bucking her hips wildly, the bed sheets bunched up and gripped tightly in one of her hands; the other tangled in Erisa’s ragged black hair. Ash’s eyes opened wide as she teetered on the edge and suddenly reached for Erisa’s face to pull her up, eye to eye. Williams was panting hard and Shepard grinned hotly, pulling her into a wet, slippery kiss, the overwhelming ardour quickly pushing her to an equal frenzy. Ashley started to grunt softly, rolling her hips and she broke their kiss to stare at Erisa with pleading eyes. “Touch me! Please!” she panted hotly, hovering on the brink. “Damn you, ‘Risa, you better finish what you started! Or I’ll never...”

Shepard never got a chance to find out what Ashley would never do, as she didn’t finish her sentence, Erisa’s hand returning to her core and caressed the little hooded nub begging for attention. The experience was beyond anything Ashley had ever felt, so very different from a man’s touch... more attentive and skilful, anticipating her needs and soft, so soft, Erisa’s body almost an extension of her own desires rather than a wilful intruder looking to ravish her. That train of thought didn’t last long though as Shepard desperately sought out one of Ash’s hands and guided it quickly up between her own thighs. As passions rose, their whimpers and moans filled the cabin, mingling and harmonising into a single inchoate sound.

When Ash's inexperienced, fumbling fingers slid up inside Erisa it was finally too much, and the new sensation sent Ashley crashing over the precipice, calling out to her lover, their hearts hammering as one. Waves of ecstasy emanated off of Ash and she shuddered uncontrollably with each one, pulling Erisa right after her, clenching tight, not wanting to let go, two orgasms merged together, shockwaves of pleasure rolled over the pair for what seemed an eternity. When the aftershocks finally tapered off, Ashley lay there stupefied, until she managed enough breath to speak aloud, in awe at what she’d experienced. "Oh my God... I had no idea it would be... that was just, so incredible, ‘Risa!"

Collapsing into an exhausted heap beside Ashley, Shepard lay there, just breathing as her mind reeled, the intoxication and intensity of being with Ash leaving her stunned and senseless. As Ashley pulled the sheets up and covered the two lovers, hiding them from the air that felt chill against their sweat, Erisa snuggled in close and laid her head on Ashley's chest, listening to a heart still hammering with exertion and passion. She slowly gave a wry smile and gently ran her fingers through Ashley’s sweat soaked tresses. “Wow...” she exclaimed quietly, before giving Ash a teasing look. “Are you _sure_ you’re new at this? Because you were amazing, _mndani_.” Her hand drew lazy circles on Ashley's taut abdomen, tracing the ridges of defined muscle and inadvertently teased new pangs of want from her partner on the low swing of every circle.

Shepard looked up into hungry brown eyes and Ashley bent her head down so she could capture her lips, kissing her nubian lover as her unquenched fire flamed anew. The loving kiss caused uncontrolled desire to quickly surge forward, and Erisa rolled onto her partner, entwining their legs once more, looking for that pressure to satisfy the pangs between her thighs. Erisa and Ashley became a tangle of limbs once more, drawn tight together for a more intense kind of pleasure as each sought to satisfy the other’s throbbing core. Passions flared as they plunged back into one another and it began again...

\-------------------------------

Hours passed and as they lay there, wrapped in each other’s arms and basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking, Ashley tenderly stroked Erisa’s right arm, an inquisitive look creeping over her sweat streaked face as she felt the tattoos beneath her fingertips. “’Risa,” she asked softly, “what are these? Tattoos?” Erisa looked down to where Ashley’s fingers lay against her glistening skin and she nodded slowly. “Yeah. They’re kinda personal though.” Ashley cocked an eyebrow and smirked. “Okay, considering what we just did, I think we’ve moved past personal.” That made Erisa smirk in return and she chuckled slightly. “Touché. Well, go ahead then, have a look. They’re kinda hard to see though; you know, what with them being black on black.” Ash shook her head at Erisa in a fond manner then craned her neck to get a better view, angling the light off of them. “They... they’re names,” she said, curious as to their meaning. Running her fingers over them, she spelled the first few out. “Ramone... Vasquez... Macklin... Pikowski... who are they?” Shepard gave a sad smile. “Anyone and everyone I either led, or sent, to their death.” Ashley looked a little shocked at the revelation, her shock turning to an odd mix of horror and wonderment as she realized how many there were. “There... there must be over a hundred names here!” Shepard nodded gravely. “One hundred and fourteen. One fifteen after I add Kaidan.” She touched the spot on her forearm that was reserved for him. “He goes right here, just below Jenkins.” Falling silent a moment, she tried to explain. “It’s... it’s a reminder. And a memorial. They deserve to be remembered; and I can’t afford to forget that I failed them.” She gave Ash a loving smile and lifted her left arm up so her acid burns were clearly visible. “I know you’re curious why I kept these when I could have just had the surgery and gotten fresh skin grafted on; I tried explaining it to Karin once but she couldn’t understand. I needed to keep them, to remind me of Akuze and everything that happened there, so I never forgot. Now they’re so much a part of me I can’t imagine living without them... I don’t know who I’d be without my scars.” 

Ashley frowned, not quite understanding the lengths Erisa had gone to to ensure she remembered such a painful trauma. When she spoke, her voice was gentle, but insistent. “If we’re really going to do this, be together properly I mean, then there’s... there’s something I need to know Erisa, and I need you to be honest with me.” Shepard’s relaxed, melancholic smile slowly crumbled into a gentle, forlorn expression of reluctant acknowledgement and she turned in Ashley’s arms to look her lover in the eyes. She’d known for some time this day was coming, as soon as she’d started flirting with Ashley, she’d known, and her voice was subdued, her eyes sad as she replied. “You want to know about Akuze.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement, and Ashley nodded gently.

“I do, and, and it’s not because I’m curious about the great Commander Shepard, or because I want to know something no one else does.” She paused, looking for the right words. “If... if we do this, then we’re in it together, okay? That means everything; no secrets. We won’t be two separate people anymore; we’ll be Ashley and Erisa. That means your problems become my problems, and vice versa.” She gently caressed Shepard’s scarred arm and reached down for her hand, interlacing their fingers. “I want... I _need_... to know what happened to you there, because I know it still haunts you. And I’m not going to tell you to let the past go, or try and share the load. Losing the 212 is always going to be a part of me, my burden to bear; just like losing the 323 will always be a part of you. But I need to understand it, so I can help you carry that weight whenever it gets too much.” She looked deep into Erisa’s dark, teary eyes, seeing the pain behind them and the emotional exhaustion that carrying her dead wherever she went caused. Slowly, Erisa let out a long sigh and nodded.

“Ahhhh... I guess this day was always coming, wasn’t it?” Ashley gave her lover a soft smile and nodded. “We can’t hide from the past forever, ‘Risa. It has a way of catching up with us eventually.”

Erisa nodded and snuggled into Ash’s warm body, laying her head on a broad shoulder as she started to speak. “Well, it all started when an Alliance Survey & Pioneering team dropped out of contact...”


	19. Akuze

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> S&R = Search & Rescue  
> APC = Armoured Personnel Carrier  
> ECO = Electronics & Communications Officer  
> Piękny = beautiful (Polish)  
> CID = criminal investigation division  
> MRE = Meal, Ready to Eat  
> PTR = Planet To Relay  
> GPR = Ground Penetrating Radar  
> Ja pierdole = Oh fuck (Polish)  
> pendejo = asshole (Spanish)

2177, Akuze

“You wanna tell me again why the hell we’re on this barren-ass ball of rock, LT?”

Shepard laughed airily and grinned, playfully slapping the huge marine to her right on the shoulder. “I swear to God, Ramone, you sleep through another mission briefing I’ll write you up. For the snoring, if nothing else. “

That got a round of laughs from the unit of marines surrounding them and Gunnery Sergeant Ramone grinned, spitting aside the chewed up remains of his cigar end. “Wouldn’t happen if the Captain wasn’t so damn boring.”

Shaking her head fondly, Shepard shifted her Mantis rifle in her arms to a more comfortable position and summed up the briefing. “We’re here because a bunch of pansy assed surveyors stopped answering the phone. We’re here to find them, kiss any boo boos they have all better and remind them to stop digging in the dirt long enough to pick up the comm. now and then so Mummy and Daddy know they’re all right.”

Ramone grunted and shouldered his Lancer as they continued trekking across the empty plain towards the survey team’s last known position; a valley a few klicks to the north of where the SSV _Munroe_ had dropped off their platoon. Even as they walked the valley mouth was slowly coming into view. “And they had to send a whole platoon? Must be one helluva booboo.” Shepard snorted and laughed. “Welcome to life in the corps, Gunny.”

Ramone grinned, white teeth shining out from his dark, stubbled face. “Hoo-rah.”

Newly minted N6 Lieutenant Erisa Shepard was walking at the head of a small column of three M29 Grizzlies, the heavy APC’s filled with the men and women of the 323rd ‘Howling Wolverines’, a fifty strong platoon of rough and ready Alliance N4 spec ops marines; currently assigned to S&R operations based out of the Alliance heavy cruiser SSV _Munroe_. Three full squads plus search and rescue equipment rode in the vehicles whilst the first squad of the 323 rd walked escort as first response, with her and platoon Gunnery Sergeant Alonso Ramone on point. Despite her cavalier recounting of their mission brief to Gunny Ramone, she knew this was a serious S&R operation and although the 323rd looked relaxed and carefree as they travelled, the pounding drums and gruff southern drawl of ‘Travelin’ Band’ echoing out of the Grizzlies’ external speakers, they were professional soldiers who knew their job.

Three days ago the survey and pioneering team assigned to assess Akuze for its potential as a colony; be it civilian or military, had gone silent. The brass was worried it could be Batarians, looking for cheap payback for what had happened to their forces on Torfan only a few months past. The wholesale slaughter there had effectively ended the Hegemony’s aspirations to colonize the Traverse, leaving the galactic sector open for humanity to expand. Needless to say, the Batarians hadn’t taken it well and former Hegemony military units were rapidly becoming raiders, intent on terrorising human settlements and explorers.

She was pulled out of her train of thought when another marine, a slim biotic by the name of Lisbeth Cade, called out. “This is your last mission with us, ain’t it LT?” Shepard looked over at her and nodded sadly. “Fraid so, Corporal Cade. Corps won’t let us shiny N6’s run with you N4 scum for long before they shift us up the ladder, they think we might give you grunts ideas above your station. ‘Airs and graces’ they call it, though I don’t think I’d accuse the 323rd of having airs...”

“Not unless you count Pikowski’s breath,” grunted Ramone, “man’s could drop a wild Varren faster’n my rifle.”

Their comms. crackled to life and a thick polish accent rumbled through all their helmets. “That’s because you can’t shoot for shit, Gunny. I keep telling you all, polish sausage is best. Piękny!” Shepard smirked at Ramone and keyed on her mic. ”Is that what you call what you’ve been feedin’ that pretty little comm. tech in the Munroe’s CIC huh, Pikowski?” The marines around her grinned and she heard the big Pole give a bark of laughter from inside his Grizzly.  His voice was soon back though, this time serious. ”I’m starting to pick up some signals Lieutenant. No comm. traffic yet but I’m registering locator beacons for four exploratory rovers and power readings in the 24 terajoule range. No bio-signs but there could be magnetic strata in the valley walls interfering with the signals.”

”Acknowledged Pikowski. The survey team’s inventory listed four rovers and a KV7 series generator, that’ll be your 24 TJ. Widen your scans and coordinate with the other Grizzlies, find us some bio-signs or comm. traffic, anything that might mean life.” Accepting his acknowledgement of her orders without further comment, she keyed her mic to a platoon-wide broadcast. “Okay people, we’re getting close. Alpha squad, close up on me, we’ll lead in on point. Macklin, Vasquez,” she called out to the sergeants of second and third squads, “You’re done riding. Get your squad’s lazy asses our here and walk with the rest of us. Vasquez, take the left flank, Macklin you cover our right. Pikowski, kill the tunes. It’s time to go to work, children.”

She had to grin over at Ramone as even with her comm. channel closed she could hear Macklin’s booming voice resounding out from inside his Grizzly as the music cut out. “Well you heard the lady! Come on sweethearts; get up get up GET UP!” The doors to the second M29 slid open and a huge, brawny bear of a man stepped out, the sun shining off of his aviator sunglasses as he ushered his squad out into the open and deployed them to the right flank. He sucked in a deep breath and grinned at his men. “Ahh... another glorious day in the Corps.” Settling his hard suit helmet on, he nodded to the lieutenant and shouldered his Scimitar shotgun before joining his squad. Out on the left flank, the tiny form of Sergeant Alicia Vasquez was issuing similar orders to her own squad, her South American heritage obvious with every sultry, accented “Ándale!” she bellowed at her marines.

Lifting her Mantis to her shoulder, Shepard adjusted the scope then zoomed in on the valley mouth dead ahead of them, scouting its contours before she commed Vasquez. “Sergeant, looks like the valley ahead curves around to the right. Send your best scouts ranging out left; we’ve got the Grizzlies scanning but I want Mark One Eyeball on that valley while we close.  Comprendé?” She smiled and nodded to herself as Vasquez relayed her orders. “Good girl, ‘Licia. Let me know the minute they spot something.” When there were no more orders left to issue, she waved her arm back to the Grizzlies then swept it forward. “Okay alpha squad, let’s roll out.”

Twenty minutes later they entered the valley mouth. The short hike had been uneventful, uneventful enough that Shepard had started to get a niggling feeling in her gut. The scouts that had ranged out to the left were now up in the foothills on the valley’s northern slope but so far all they’d been able to confirm was that the survey team had appeared to set up shop further along on the valley floor and that the four rovers were parked up, stationary. They hadn’t spotted any movement at all, not even anything indigenous. Pikowski and the other ECO’s were having just as much luck. No life signs, no comm. signals of any kind. Not even motion sensors were picking up anything. Shepard’s bad feeling was starting to get worse. Planet side it was coming up on about 19:00, chow time. By all rights the camp ahead should have been bustling with survey teams and pioneers settling down to dinner. She got a chilling premonition that whatever had made the survey team go dark had done so in a rather more permanent fashion than they’d all hoped for. So much for finding the team alive and busily working on a busted transmitter. 

But no matter how bad she thought it’d be when they got there, nothing could have prepared her for what they actually found. As the first reports from Vasquez’s third squad scouts came back she almost hadn’t believed them at first, it had taken a firm shake of her head to remind herself that the 323 wasn’t a green unit filled with fresh out of basic grunts. Every one of them was an experienced N4 marine, all veterans of combat operations against the Batarian Hegemony. If they were reporting a slaughter, then there’d been a slaughter. It wasn’t until first squad walked into the makeshift base of operations that she saw they had been wrong. This wasn’t a slaughter... it was carnage.

Nothing they’d seen so far in any of their careers had prepared them for what they were looking at, and as they crept forward into the camp, weapons raised, it was Ramone who best voiced what they were all thinking. Standing there, looking about at the strewn remains of bodies that had been ripped apart and vehicles and buildings that had had great gashes and rents torn out of their ceramisteel alloy shells, the Gunny’s jaw had dropped and he simply whispered “What. The. Fuck.”  Blood was everywhere, sprayed over walls and packing crates, it pooled on the ground like rain puddles and the ground was covered with great furrows of freshly carved up earth. A horrid, charnel stench filled the air, strong enough to penetrate the filters on their standard issue M3 tactical helmets. Snapping out of it, Shepard looked over the scene impassively, pushing her emotional responses to the back of her mind before she began barking orders. “Charlie squad, secure the high ground in the northern foothills. I want over watch on this position at all times, you understand me Sergeant Vasquez?!”

“Macklin! You and Corporal Toombs take bravo and delta squads, I want a perimeter 20 metres out from this camp and I want it yesterday! Set up floods and deploy sensor nets as soon as you’ve got barricades in place. Mack,” she said in firm voice, “Make it tight. I mean like-a-nun’s-proverbial tight. Nothing gets through you don’t know about.” The brawny sergeant nodded and bellowed for the corporal as he set off to carry out his orders.

“Pikowski, you’re chief ECO, big man. I need you, Ludgate and Prasad to be my eyes and ears here. First things first, open a channel back to the Munroe; Captain Farragut needs to know what’s happened...” She paused and grit her teeth as she surveyed the gruesome scene about them. “And as soon as I figure out just what the hell that is, I’ll tell you. Next, I want constant sweeps running. That means comms, bio-signs, motion detectors, pulse feeds, thermal feeds, lidar... hell, throw in seismics too. We’ve got the gear in the S&R pods so we may as well use it. You’ve got command of the Grizzlies; position them wherever you need for best coverage. Someone, or some _thing_ did this and I don’t want them sneaking up on us in the dark.” She looked up at the sun and saw it was beginning to dip behind the northern ridge of the mountains above them; the valley slipping into dark shadows.

“You got it LT,” the big Pole said, trying to keep his voice calm and confident.

“Good man. Get us out of this mess in one piece I’ll buy you a whole goddamn butchery of Polish sausage.” She grinned as she heard him chuckle then flicked off her comms. “Ramone! Get your fat ass over here, Gunny.”

Ramone approached from her six, his senses trained on the area around them; she could almost see his ears quivering and his nose sniffing the air. “Jesus, anyone ever tell you you look like a damn dog when you do that?” Shepard asked, trying to ease the sudden tension running through all of first squad.

“Can’t say they have ma’am. Though I was in Louisiana one time on shore leave and I had a fella call me a coon. Don’t think he meant the dog though. You want something LT? Other than to discuss my erstwhile canine appearance?” Shepard nodded. “Yeah, I’m afraid you and alpha squad get the worst job. I need you to comb this mess for survivors, or a working console, something with access to a cam feed or some kind of sensor. I need to find out what the _hell_ did this.”

“Roger that LT.” He paused and gave her a sideways look. “Just another days in the Corps, eh?”

“Hoo-rah,” she said quietly.

Leaving Ramone to organise alpha squad into search teams, Shepard surveyed the compound and took stock of what the pioneering team had brought with them. Aside from the four older model exploratory rovers they’d been set down with ten prefab units. Two looked like they were configured for use as labs, another two for storage, leaving four as sleeping units. The other two were clearly a latrine block and a larger, more substantial building that was a combined mess hall and communal living space. All of them showed signs of damage, their outer skins gouged and dented, but there were no obvious blast patterns, carbon scoring or even bullet holes to point to an attack by pirates or raiders. _Whatever did this,_ she thought to herself, _it sure as hell wasn’t the Batarians. We’d better document as much as we can, Colonial CID is going to want to launch an investigation._

“Lieutenant, we ah... we might have a problem here.” Pikowski’s deep voice sounded shaken and she tapped her comm. twice to keep the line private as he reported. “What do you mean by ‘a problem’, Pikowski?”

“The Munroe, ma’am... she’s gone.” What the hell was going on now, she thought to herself, and she jogged back to the first Grizzly, sliding the heavy armoured door open and stepping in before she moved to where the big Pole sat at the ECO station. “See?” he offered, swinging the holodisplay towards her. “I tried hailing her so you could report to the Captain but I got nothing. I kept trying and nothing. Even ran diagnostics to make sure it wasn’t the system. Finally I tried accessing the PTP laser link and I got... well, more nothing.” He noticed her slight confusion and explained. “The point to point laser link is made as soon as we touch down, so the Grizzly and her base ship can remain in contact. It’s purely a digital line for streaming positional data; it’s not intended for the heavier communications and sensors data. They operate on a higher broadcast frequency sent in pulses. The trouble is ma’am, if the laser link breaks, the Grizzly’s system is supposed to register the loss of contact. The system itself would have alerted me. It didn’t.” Shepard was stunned by the revelation. Their ship, their back up and support structure was gone. “Surely she’s somewhere corporal; you don’t just lose a heavy cruiser! Even if she’d been attacked or called away she would have sent us a message.” Pikowski nodded. “That’s the last thing I checked, ma’am. There’s no record of any broadcast to us or any of the other Grizzlies. The Munroe, she has left us here, without a word.”

Shepard shook her head in disbelief, but told her chief ECO to start work on the scans instead and stepped out of the Grizzly into the fading light. Night was almost on them. Vasquez and Macklin made contact within minutes of each other, confirming that both over watch and their perimeter were in place and now receiving telemetry from the three M29s. Shepard could breathe at least a small sigh of relief now, knowing the 323rd was dug in and as prepared as they could be; though quite how she was going to explain that the _Munroe_ had just abandoned them on planet was giving her pause. Her men, and women, were tough though, hard as nails she often described them as, and they were experienced. If they didn’t hear from the _Munroe_ soon she’d just have to dig in and wait it out. “Good job Mack, you too ‘Licia. Have your men rest in shifts and break out the MREs, just make sure they maintain light and noise discipline. It could be a long night. I’ve got to talk to Ramone, see if we can’t figure exactly what the hell happened to these poor sonsabitches. Shep out.”

Stepping around a badly mauled body, she thanked god for the filters in her helmet and headed towards the largest, least damaged of the survey team’s prefab buildings, the communal living space, where she knew Gunny Ramone had set up a command station for her. As she entered, he was sitting on a table, chewing on the end of a fresh cigar while he waited for two packets of coffee, navy style of course, to instaheat in their thermal pouches.  With a nod to himself he looked away from his chrono then handed one to Shepard. She took it gratefully and gave him a smile as she unsealed her helmet and pulled it free, shaking out her thick dreadlocks. “Thanks Gunny.” Opening the pouch, she touched a pad on the side and watched as the flexible packaging realigned its molecules and hardened into a rigid mug. That always fascinated her; it was the tiny luxuries like that made soldiering bearable some days. “Okay, tell me what you got and make it good. I just heard from Pikowski the Munroe’s gone.” He raised an eyebrow at her in query as he struck a match and lit the cigar. She shrugged in return. “Your guess is as good as mine, Ramone. Attacked and driven off, destroyed, maybe she had to evac a nearby colony or ship. It’d odd we got no message but maybe she had comm. problems... yeah I know,” she said, not even needing to let him speak to know what he was going to say. “Too many maybes in that for my liking too.”

Her second in command blew out an acrid cloud of smoke then took a sip of hot coffee. “Well, you’re not gonna like this either, LT. No survivors, no sensor data. Hell, there’s not even a cam feed that got a clear shot of what went down here... but whatever it was, it was heinous. I’ve got LeBeau using one of the storage buildings as a makeshift morgue; it has a reefer unit so the smell shouldn’t be a problem for much longer. It’s pretty torn up but intact enough for what we need. Trouble is, clean up is taking twice as long as it normally would. Most of these poor motherfuckers have been torn to pieces so it takes a few trips just to haul away one of them.” He stood up and picked up his Lancer, gesturing for her to follow him. “It’s not until you get past the bodies outside and start taking a look at the buildings that the really weird shit shows up.” Leading her outside, he took her across to one of the smaller buildings and pointed out a panel on the side of the prefab. “Take a look.”

She did, and what she saw she didn’t like. “What the...? Is that acid scoring?” Ramone grunted and nodded. “More than scoring, LT. Looks like someone doused the whole damn panel in acid and just let it melt. I’ve heard of raiders using Tox rounds and biochem grenades, but nothing like this. Once you start paying attention, you notice the same burn patterns everywhere. On their rovers, their prefabs, melting through their damn storage crates. We even got one poor bastard in the morgue; head melted clean the fuck off. Now that’s just nasty, boss.” Finishing her coffee, she tossed it aside and fished a pack of smokes out of the inside of her helmet, putting one between her lips before taking Ramone’s cigar out of his mouth to light it with. Drawing on it deeply, she handed back his stogie and exhaled a thin, blue stream of smoke. “Yeah, I noticed a distinct lack of anything that would point to an attack by an armed force. This place wasn’t hit by raiders. Something else happened here, and my gut says it ain’t over. That it or you got anything else you’d care to fuck up my day with?”

Ramone grinned his evilest and she pinched the bridge of her nose. “I shoulda known you’d save the craziest shit till last, Ramone. What, are you trying to kill me before my transfer comes through or something? “

“Thought hadn’t even crossed my mind,” he said, grinning around his cigar. “C’mon, this way. Mind your step though. We got a lot of loose earth all around the compound, some sink holes too. You think maybe that’s what these squints were studying?” Shepard finished her smoke and flicked the butt away. “Maybe. But I doubt they’d put their prefabs down right on top of them. Their camp seems to be set up in a pretty textbook fashion; these furrows don’t make sense, not when the valley floor to the east is clean. I’ll have Prasad come out and run a few scans on them later. Okay Gunny,” she sighed, “what’s your cherry on the top of this fucked up cake of weirdness?” Ramone led her back into the temporary command post she’d be operating out of, and right up to what looked like a built in cupboard. He nodded to it. “Go on, take a look.” Eyeing him weirdly, she shrugged and pulled open the door only to almost shit herself. In the bottom crouched the corpse of a young woman, a pistol clutched in her hands and the barrel jammed up under her chin. She was clearly dead though; as the rest of the cupboard was splashed with fragments of her skull and brain, the inside of the top half of the pantry the dark red of dried blood. “Holy fuck,” she swore softly as Ramone only nodded. “Whatever happened here, it was seriously fucked up enough the poor girl was willing to eat a bullet rather than let it happen to her. And considering what LeBeau’s dealing with in that morgue... I’d say she took the easy way out. I can’t blame her one little bit fo’ that.”

“Jesus, Ramone... you sure know how to show a girl a good time. Okay...” She paused and thought through what to do next. Only there was nothing left to do but wait, wait for either the _Munroe_ to return or for whatever did this to come back. Well, if it did this time it was going to have to deal with the 323 rd, dug in and ready. _Let’s see how the fuckers like messing with the Howling Wolverines._ “Gunny, detail a couple more guys to help LeBeau then shift alpha squad to the south, plug the gap between Mack and Toomb’s squads on the perimeter. Pikowski’s the only one other than us who knows the Munroe’s missing. I want to keep it that way. For now,” she added, seeing the look on his broad face that all but said ‘are you sure?’ “I know just as well as you do that the 323 rd are solid; they’re not going to freak out over being stuck here. But there’s no point giving them something else to worry about without confirming it first. The transceivers on the M29’s are only meant for ground to orbit communications. Past that their range is useless. But... the survey team here has a PTR system. We get that up and running, we can link into the comm. buoy back at the Relay and re-establish comms with base.”

The grizzled Gunny Sergeant nodded at the plan. “That’ll work. I take it you want me and Pikowski to handle this, seein’ as we know what the others ain’t ‘sposed to yet.”

“Not quite,” Shepard replied, “Pikowski’s the 323rd’s most experienced ECO. I need him running point on the sensor sweeps. Now they’ve got their scans set he and Ludgate can handle it without Prasad though. You make sure the PTR unit is working and double check the genny. I’ll get Prasad out here to scan these sinkholes then you can use her to get the link up and running.” She paused and looked out the doorway at the strange furrows of earth that crisscrossed the abandoned camp site. “Something about those holes isn’t sitting right with me; I can feel it in my gut. We’re missing something. Keep your eyes peeled out there, Ramone. Now git,” she said with a rough smirk, shooing him out the door.

“Prasad,” she said, keying in her throat mic, “grab some of the GPR kit out of the rescue gear we brought and report to me at the CP. I got some holes for you to look at.” Lighting up another smoke, she looked down at the dead body in the wardrobe and shuddered. _I don’t care what did this; I ain’t going out like you, lady. If the Corps says I gotta die here, I’m doin’ it on my feet, rifle in hand. Like a fucking marine._

\--------------------------------------

Ten minutes later, she was standing outside with PFC Rana Prasad, watching with interest as the experienced engineer from Mumbai ran a ground penetrating radar scan over one of the sinkholes; the data streaming into her omnitool and beginning to assemble a picture of what was beneath the ground. “It might take a moment for the data to compile, Lieutenant,” Prasad apologised, “The radar picked up a lot more readings than I would have expected.” She was about to tell the youngest of the 323rd’s ECO’s not to apologise for doing her job when it began. As was so very common with most combat engagements; the start came out of nowhere, nothing heralding the onset of the storm. All it took was the one word they all knew so well and it was on.

“Contact right!” The shout came from the eastern perimeter and was immediately followed by the rattle of assault rifles as a tight group of men and women from second squad opened fire into the night. The rolling crack of gunfire was pierced by an inhuman screeching as they hit something, wounding it badly before it disappeared back into the night. A moment of stillness returned and Shepard barked down her comms. as she slammed her helmet back on, locking the seals in place. “Report!”

Mack’s country boy accent twanged back through the comm channel. “We had hostile contact on the east line, ma’am. I’m getting descriptions of a terrestrial creature, definitely organic, maybe seven to eight feet in length. My boys hosed it pretty good LT, whatever it was, it ain’t gettin’ back up.” 

“Roger that Sarge. Pikowski! You pick up anything else out there?”

The Pole’s response came back in the negative though he did sound a little perplexed as to why sensors hadn’t detected the creature’s bio-sign before it got close to the perimeter. Just then Prasad got her attention, a worried look on her dark face. “I don’t like what I’m seeing on this GPR readout ma’am. According to the sensor data, that’s _not_ a sinkhole. It’s a bore hole, and the valley floor is covered with them. These loose furrows of earth? They’re the remains of _tunnelling._ ”

Shepard felt her blood run cold and she yelled down the comm link. “Pikowski! Scan for seismics, now!” It was too late though. The valley floor beneath them began to vibrate, tremors running through the earth before that same inhuman screech, multiplied a hundredfold, rang out all around them. Every side of the perimeter screamed out contact and the thick voice of her chief ECO sounded in her ears. “ _Ja pierdole..._ we got movement LT! Seismics just went crazy, we’re getting bio-signs everywhere and motion detection is pinging like mad in all four quadrants!”  Shepard had to press the heel of her hand to the side of her helmet to hear the big Pole over the sound of gunfire bursting into life all around the perimeter. She tried to get a count of how many hostiles there were, but the sensors just didn’t know, the bioelectrics were so thick all around them the computers couldn’t give accurate numbers.

Going platoon-wide, she started bellowing orders. “Hit the floods! Concentrate fire on the hostiles closest to the perimeter and fire at will!” She started running towards the southern perimeter to take command of first squad, giving Prasad a rough shove in the direction of the communications building. “Go, get to Gunny and get the survey team’s PTR system working! Send out a general distress, the 323rd out of the SSV Munroe is under heavy attack on Akuze, in need of emergency evac STAT! Now move, marine!” Prasad took off at a sprint towards the comm. shed, dropping the GPR sensor package. She was still pulling the Lancer off of her back as the ground exploded beneath her. Shepard heard her scream and saw a horrible spray of blood fill the air as two long tentacles, tipped with vicious barbed claws a foot long plunged into the young marine’s back and bodily ripped her in two before tossing the pieces aside. Following the tentacles back, she saw they were attached to a thick, wormlike body a good eight to nine feet long; covered in feelers and spines. Rearing up high, it turned and opened its tri-jawed maw and spat at her, a hissing glob of saliva spearing out at her. Diving to the side, she rolled smoothly and came up, tucking her Mantis into her shoulder and cycling her rifle as fast as its heat venting would allow. Round after round tore into the creature but all they managed to do was force it back and it dived again, burrowing quickly beneath the ground. A quick glance to the side confirmed her sudden suspicion that the source of the acid burns around the surveyor’s compound was the spittle of these beasts.

All around the valley the rattle of gunfire continued, mixing with the screeches of the maws and joined by the blood curdling screams of her men as they started to die; either torn apart by claws, splashed with acidic spit or dragged down into the crushing earth to be devoured. With Prasad dead, she commed Ramone and told him to get the system up and the distress call out. “I know what the fuck happened Gunny,” she shouted into her mic as she ran for the perimeter, “the damn survey team set up camp right on top of a fucking Thresher nest!” Almost to the perimeter now, she could have leapt for joy when she heard the twin .50 calibre HMGs of the Grizzlies open up at the eastern and western sides of the encampment, cutting swathes into the surrounding baby threshers, and someone had finally managed to trip the floodlights. The valley floor around them lit up like it was midday as the powerful halogen beams cut through the darkness, but for a moment Shepard wished they hadn’t. The ground around them churned and writhed with a sea of the creatures, for every one they cut down with concentrated fire, another two took its place.

Not that it was any safer inside the perimeter, as the soil was being ploughed up from beneath with the movement of the threshers through the ground. If she didn’t rally the platoon and get them to safe ground soon they were going to be overrun. LeBeau and the two marines detailed to help him came sprinting out of the makeshift morgue, weapons in hand, only to get pulled apart by a pair of surfacing maws; LeBeau was doubly unfortunate, great gobs of acidic spittle slammed into his hard suit’s chestplate and helmet; the acid burning into and through them remorselessly. It was a horrible way to die and Shepard shuddered even as she fired back at the maw that killed him. A lucky shot took it through the eye and its screech turned into a pained scream before it swayed once and crashed to the earth. She put a few more rounds into it then took stock. All about her the 323rd was fighting and dying. Sure, they were going out fighting like the marines they were, but they were dying nonetheless. Going platoon-wide again, she barked a retreat down her mic. “Fall back, Get to the Grizzlies!” She turned to lead alpha squad to the M29 stationed in the south with them when she heard a great, rumbling graunch and she watched in horror as the ground beneath the APC fell away, dropping the troop carrier into a pit that writhed with threshers. The .50 cals barked and spat until the drums ran dry even as the maws spat and tore at the armour plating. She knew with the odds they faced it would almost impossible to rescue Pikowski and the few marines still in the M29. With luck perhaps, the heavy fighting vehicle would be sturdy enough to withstand the thresher assault until rescue arrived. From where she didn’t know, but she prayed to her ancestors it was coming. Mack delivered further bad news. “The M29s are a no-go ma’am, Grizz’s two and three are absolutely bugshit crawlin’ with these fuckin’ things!”

“Okay, belay that last marines! Fall back into the northern hills and rendezvous with over watch!” That hope was quickly dashed as she heard Vasquez’s voice come over the comm. line, sounding breathless. She could hear gunfire in the background and cursed. “That’s a negative, LT,” said the amped up sounding Venezuelan, “ _pendejo_ things are coming out of the fucking walls up here! There must be a tunnel system they’re using.”

“Fuck!” she swore loudly to herself, joining the rest of first squad in firing at a hatchling that reared up out of the ground in front of them. Emptying her rifle into it, she issued fresh orders whilst the rest of her men splattered the maw. “All squads, collapse in on the CP! It’s the strongest, most defendable structure left. Lucky for us the surveyors dropped in on a natural rock shelf. At least these fuckers can’t sap us! Mack, you got provisional command of the CP until I get there, organise defences and... ah hell, you know what the fuck to do. I gotta go find Ramone and make sure we got some kind of rescue comin’!” Tapping a nearby corporal on the shoulder, she gave him command of first squad, with orders to get them to the CP in one piece.

Knowing full well her sniper’s rifle would be next to useless in the close quarter confines of the survey camp they’d occupied, Shepard stowed her rifle and pulled free her sidearm, a Shuriken SMG. Loading it with Shredder rounds, the better to kill organic targets like the Thresher hatchlings with, she left first squad and took off running for the comm. lab. She was about two thirds of the way there when the ground beneath her started to shift and heave, rolling about like solid earth wasn’t meant to. Diving forward, she managed to avoid being dragged under and as soon as she hit the ground she rolled onto her back, weapon at the ready. Foiled in its attempt to pull her under, the hatchling broke the surface and screeched madly. Shepard opened fire with her Shuriken even as she scrambled to get to her feet and she watched with satisfaction as rounds tore into the hatchling’s fleshy body, huge sprays of green ichor erupting from the great wounds her SMG was inflicting on it. Still, it wasn’t dead yet and clawed tentacles lashed out at her as it screamed in pain. She narrowly avoided the first, swaying to the side, but the second and third hit her full force, the prehensile limbs wrapping about her waist and starting to drag her towards the beast’s tri-jawed maw. One word into her mic saw the glowing orange nanoblade on her right arm spring into existence and she slashed and hacked at the tentacles, trying desperately to cut herself free as she riddled the other flailing appendage with rounds. It wasn’t enough though, and she saw the huge gaping maw above her, ready to plunge down and engulf her, head first. Just then, the creature’s screams turned into a low moan and its grip slackened; a huge hole appeared in what she took for its head and with a final sway, it collapsed to the ground, dead beside her.

Shepard glanced around for where the rescuing sniper shot had come from and finally saw it. Sniper fire was still coming from the over watch position on the north slope, protecting marines as they fell back towards the CP. “Damn it Vasquez,” she hollered into her helmet mic, “I ordered a full withdrawal to the CP, that means charlie squad too. Get your ass down here!” The reply she got was filled with the crack of sniper rifles and the staccato bursts of SMGS and Lancers. “That’s a negative, ma’am. There’s not more than a handful of us left up here. If we make a break for the CP we’ll be cut down before we get twenty paces. We’ve got a defensible position up here,” Vasquez lied. “I’ve ordered covering fire for the rest of the 323rd while they fall back. Charlie will maintain over watch until all squads are safe, then we’ll dig in here.” The conversation paused and she heard the loud report of a shotgun blast as Vasquez defended herself. “ _Vaya con Dios_ , Shepard,” the fierce little Amazon whispered, “It’s been an honour and a pleasure, ma’am.”

Shepard looked at the north ridge where third squad was making their last stand and she felt hopelessly impotent. “Vasquez! Vasquez! ALICIA!!” But it was no use, she wasn’t answering. Tears stung her eyes but Shepard blinked them away, she didn’t have time to get emotional. She’d already lost friends today, if she didn’t get help soon they’d all lose more. Turning, she finished the short sprint to the comm. lab and tore open the door, slipping inside and slamming it shut. Ramone was already at the console and he gave her a report without waiting for her to ask. “Genny’s primed and connected LT; PTR system is booting... coming online now.” The lab was rocked by a heavy impact, a massive rent appearing in the east wall as it was attacked by a Thresher and Shepard leapt a table to get to it; shoving the barrel of her Shuriken through the tear and firing wildly. A pained shriek rang out and the building stopped rocking, for the moment at least. The Gunny patched Shepard into the comm. system then moved to cover the door, his Lancer at the ready.

“Mayday, mayday, mayday,” Shepard yelled into her mic, “This is Lieutenant Shepard of the 323rd, Alliance Marines. Calling any Alliance vessel within communications range, our unit is under heavy attack by indigenous lifeforms. I repeat; my unit is under heavy attack from a Thresher nest. We need immediate emergency evac. To any ship out there, come down on this broadcast’s position. We will hold as long as we are able but we need emergency evac STAT.” Firing another burst out of the makeshift gunport, she brought up her omnitool and set the mayday to broadcast on a loop across all Alliance channels she had access to. “We’re done here Gunny. You feel like takin’ a walk back to the CP?” Ramone readied his rifle and grinned as the lieutenant joined him, ready to fling open the door. “A moonlit stroll across a thresher infested S&P camp? What’s not to like,” he grunted sarcastically. “Okay, hit it when you’re ready boss. It’s about time I got into this fight.”

The door to the comm. lab was flung open and the two marines came out in standard cover formation, moving at double time as they ran for the relative safety of the CP. They shifted from target to target, laying down steady fire that kept the hatchlings off of them just long enough to make it to the central mess hall. The door was wrenched open from the inside as soon as they got close and two marines popped out to cover the flanks, firing tight, controlled bursts from kneeling positions as their lieutenant and chief NCO barrelled inside first. With a heavy thud the door was slammed shut behind all four of them and a makeshift barricade put back in place. Breathless from the short run and constant firing, Shepard stood doubled over, resting with her hands on her knees as she composed herself then looked up. She didn’t like what she saw; perhaps twenty marines had made it back to the command post and many of them were injured, either slashed or stabbed by clawed talons or worse; hit by acid that burnt through hard suits and flesh alike. “Mack! Report.”

The brawny sergeant from second squad came over and she could see he’d already been hit; blood stained his right side and medigel soaked pressure bandages were visible where his armour had been strapped back on over them. “CP is secure, ma’am. For now. Platoon strength is down to twenty four marines; only twenty of which are combat ready. Mostly alpha and bravo squads. Charlie’s gone, ma’am. We’ve had no contact with them since Vasquez disobeyed the fall back order and covered the retreat instead. We’ve got a few men from delta. Toombs didn’t make it either, ma’am. Stayed back to cover his squad. We lost Pikowski and Ludgate when the Grizzlies were overrun.” Looking at the remains of the 323rd, she nodded at the butcher’s bill and straightened. “Listen up Wolverines,” she bellowed like a drill sergeant, “I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. This situation is pretty much fubar as it gets! A general distress has gone out; it’ll have reached the entire cluster by now so help _is_ on the way! All we have to do is wait it out. Yes, we’ve lost a lot of good people, but until we’re back onboard a crate that has ‘SSV’ painted on the hull, you will stow that shit and _deal_. Gunny Ramone, get me a morale check, if you please.” From behind her, both Ramone and Macklin stepped forward and gave a bellowing “HOO-RAH!”

It was a sentiment only half heartedly returned by her battered and demoralized troops, but at the lack of enthusiasm Shepard wheeled on them with fire in her eyes and a voice like thunder. “What on God’s green earth was that? Did someone transfer me to the army when I wasn’t looking? I’d expect that crap from troopers, but you are Marines! Christ, you’re the goddamned 323rd, pride of the Corps! Now give me a Hoo-Rah!” The remaining marines stiffened at her chastisement and she saw some of the fire stir in them again as they remembered who they were; their reply shook the makeshift CP and she grinned back at them as they gave an almighty “HOO-RAH!”

“That’s more like it! Alright Wolverines, take your posts. All we gotta do is hold these fuckin’ bugs off until the cavalry arrives. If anyone can do it, it’s you mean, lean, killin’ machines. You get hurt, hurt ‘em back; you get killed... walk it off. You do NOT have my permission to die today. Ramone, ammo check. Find every last scrap you can and make sure it’s distributed amongst the men. That goes for grenades, knives, sharp sticks, big fucking rocks... anything we know how to kill with. Mack, arm the wounded too. If those bastard _things_ get in here, we’re meat. I want every marine who isn’t dead ready to fight.” As the men and their sergeants snapped to and followed their orders, Shepard checked her omnitool for any replies to their mayday. Nothing yet. She prayed to God someone got it soon.

And so the siege began. They were outnumbered, outmatched and overrun. _Nothing a marine likes better,_ Shepard tried telling herself, but knowing what it was out there they were up against; even she couldn’t swallow the lie. The first attack was just as sudden as the last had been, a hateful screeching filled the air and the CP started to rock violently as the building was battered on all sides by hatchlings. Fresh gouges and rents were added to the exterior walls as clawed tentacles ripped at the building, looking for a way in. Other sections began to bubble and warp as acid splashed against the panels of the prefab. Every breach they created though just gave a marine another hole to fire through and the CP filled with the deafening cacophony of gunfire and the haze of smoke until finally the assault ceased, the hatchlings withdrawing. More marines had died, men who had been too close to the walls and had suffered vicious wounds as the barbed claws of tentacles had slammed through the ceramisteel plates, or who had been caught in streams of acidic spittle that had splashed through the holes in the walls.

The probing attacks slowed down as soon as it became evident to the creatures that they couldn’t burrow up into the building and that their food was very well armed and deeply entrenched behind makeshift defences. Every half hour or so a fresh wave would assault the CP and would eventually be repulsed, but every wave cost the defenders dearly. Between each attack Shepard’s marines managed to snatch a few moments of rest and even a chance to eat something, but the attacks always started again as the hatchlings kept testing the building, looking for weaknesses, for a way in. And with each attack more marines fell; victims either of bad luck, exhaustion creating inattention, or simple numbers. After the fifth wave they’d already had to fall back to secondary positions after constant acid barrages had weakened too many sections of wall, making the south end of the CP impossible to defend. There were only fifteen of them left now, the toughest and the luckiest of the 323rd, the men and women who’d looked death in the face and spat in his eye.

On watch with four men as the other ten rested, Shepard could see the sky outside lightening as dawn approached. Maybe now daylight was coming the situation would change. The Thresher hatchlings had waited until after nightfall to attack; if they didn’t like the sun then maybe the battered survivors of the 323rd stood a chance after all. Holding up a closed fist to the other marines on watch, she had them maintain their positions as she crept out into the southern section of the building to scout the enemies’ movements even as the sun began to rise. Staying close to the walls, she crouched as she moved along them, crawling under tables on her belly rather than risk exposing herself to view by going over them, until she reached a badly melted section of wall, where the acid damage was so prevalent an entire chunk of the panel had fallen away. Moving carefully, she peeked around the corner into the open gap left by the missing wall and tried to assess the tactical situation outside. The dead lay thick on the ground, both hatchlings and marines alike; a virtual wall of them surrounding the command post, but other than that, she couldn’t see any of them out in the open. Just furrows of fresh earth being constantly ploughed, the soil rising and sinking as the creatures circled the rock slab the central building was on, almost as if they were sharks stalking a lifeboat; waiting for the weak to fall off into their hungry maws. Sliding her Mantis onto what was left of the dissolved ceramisteel wall; she looked down through the scope and began scanning from left to right. With her wider field of vision obscured by her rifle’s scope she missed a thresher hatchling slowly breaching the surface and rearing its head. By the time she heard the familiar hawking noise as it spat; it was too late to move and the viscous glob of acidic spittle came crashing through the dawn air, right for her head. At the very last minute she was jerked backward, her left arm flailing into the air as she dropped her rifle, and with a sickening splashing sound, the acid meant for her head engulfed her arm instead. Falling back into Ramone’s arms, she watched in horror as the acid began to eat away at her armour.

Scrambling in a near panic, she tore at her arm plating while the Gunny tried to help and although she managed to wrench off her left pauldron and shoulder guard; the acid buckled and warped the clips holding on the rest of the plating before it finished eating through them and then into her pressure suit. Ramone grunted and quickly dragged her back behind the safety of their lines even as the next wave of threshers surged forward, only to be met with a wall of concentrated fire from the surviving marines. The acid finished burning its way through her pressure suit and Shepard screamed in pure agony as what felt like liquid fire began to cover her left arm. “Dammit Shepard, hold still!” yelled Ramone, still on the ground with her in his arms. Quickly, he wrapped his legs about her waist and used his left hand to immobilise her shoulder, whistling sharply at a marine she didn’t recognise. The other soldier didn’t need anything more than a look from Ramone to know what the Gunny wanted and her wrist was quickly doused in water to dilute the acid so the marine could pull her arm straight, stopping her from moving at all. An orange glow burst into life in the confines of the CP and the sight of the Gunny’s nanoblade pulled her mind back from the edge of panic. “Hold her tight, son,” Ramone snarled, “this is gonna hurt like hell and I don’t want to cut her damn arm off by accident.” His knife hand set to work, the molecule-thin, nanotech blade cutting swiftly through the straps of her hard suit’s plates then stripping off the dissolving sleeve of her pressure suit like he was dressing a kill after a hunting trip. The still smoking plates and material were tossed aside and she saw the young marine... Jensen from bravo squad, she remembered him now, turn green at the sight of her left arm looking more like a sizzling piece of bloody meat than a person’s limb. Then all she felt was cold; a numbing cold that pierced the burning agony like a needle made of ice. They must have slathered her arm in medigel.

She didn’t remember much but flashes after that. She remembered being propped in a corner and a Lancer being pressed into her good hand; a collection of SMGs and pistols laid on her lap. As the waves of hatchlings kept pressing them, she fought mechanically, emptying weapon after weapon into the closest target. Macklin fell in one attack, his throat torn open by a clawed tentacle that forced its way past their defences. More marines died with every wave but still she fought on; her mind in a fugue state, deep in survival mode. Every thresher she killed was one more that couldn’t kill her. When there was no one to hand her a loaded weapon she struggled on, loading the Lancer or Shuriken herself with her disfigured hand, leaving bloody smears across everything she touched. Her last memory of the 323rd was Ramone. She saw the Gunny fall back and crash to the floor near her, two gaping wounds piercing the chestplate of his hard suit. Blood that ran black gushed from the wounds in great spurts and she remembered seeing him grin at her through teeth stained red with a bloody froth. “Just another day... in the... Corps,” he said once, and then died with that grin frozen on his lips. Screaming in pain, frustration, grief and rage, Shepard emptied the last rounds of her pistol into an oncoming hatchling; oddly aware they were the only gunshots left to hear. Everything else was silent but for that inhuman screeching. Then there was nothing at all as the thresher crashed into her and the lights went out.


	20. Normandy's Worst Kept Secret

2183, Captain’s Quarters, the SSV Normandy

Erisa’s voice was hoarse after talking for so long, her cheeks wet as tears rolled down her austere face from huge dark eyes that were trembling. Looking up at Ashley, she forced a wan smile; the effort spilling more tears. “The last thresher was dead, I’d killed it with...” she paused, suddenly looking confused before giving a light laugh and shaking her head. “You know, I can’t even remember what it was. It might have been an old Striker or a Kessler.” Reaching up her scarred hand, she touched the long, dark scar that ran from her hairline down her left cheek to end at her jaw line, tracing it lightly with her fingertips. “But the damn thing still managed to give me this. Another constant reminder of just how close I came to dying that day.” 

Ashley had listened to Shepard’s recounting of Akuze with amazement, then horror and finally sympathy. None of the campfire stories other marines and sailors had ever made up about the final mission of the 323rd had come close to the horrifying truth and Ash could think of nothing to say. Instead she just wrapped her arms tightly about Erisa and held her close, projecting all the love and support she could muster into that embrace; a gentle hand brushing the tears away from dark cheeks. Erisa sniffed and silently thanked Ash for just listening by hugging her tight, laying her weary head back down on a porcelain shoulder. Almost in a whisper, she rounded off the tale of Akuze. “I don’t know how long I was out, but when I came to I was onboard the _Einstein_ and Karin was there, treating my injuries. Apparently they’d been passing through the Relay and picked up the mayday call. A full squad of N5 marines came down and glassed the place; burnt the valley out completely. I was the only survivor they found.” She snuggled deeper into Ashley’s side and sighed. “In the end I was sent back to Earth for rehab and counselling. I guess it’s no surprise they diagnosed me with PTSD... it took a good six months to learn how to use my arm again, and I never really did recover emotionally.” Erisa looked up at her partner, her openness and vulnerability reflected in her dark eyes. “You’ve done more for me than all the shrinks ever did. You know that, right?” That news shocked Ashley a little and it showed on her face, causing Shepard to smile faintly, one hand reaching up to caress Ash’s cheek. “Oh, I guess you didn’t.”

Ash turned her head into the gentle touch and shook her head. “No, I didn’t. How on earth have I helped you more than a trained professional could? I mean c’mon, I’m just a grunt marine, ‘Risa.” Shepard gave her a warm smile, one that radiated love. “For six years I’ve dreamt about that place every night, without fail. But not when I’m with you. I haven’t felt truly _safe_ anywhere since Akuze and I never thought I would... but the first time you wrapped your arms around me, when you leapt out to catch me above that lake of fire on Therum... I knew.” Erisa hugged Ashley tight and burrowed into her arms. “Here, in these arms, I feel safe. When you hold me, the nightmares don’t come. And for that, I don’t think I’ll _ever_ be able to repay you.”

Ashley swallowed, a lump in her throat as she started to realise just how damaged Shepard was, and it made her love the slim African woman all the more for it; just as it made her even more protective and possessive. Tenderly she reached down and ran her fingers over the names tattooed down Shepard’s right arm. “It’s them, isn’t it?” she asked quietly. “These are the faces and voices you’re so afraid of at night; the ones you didn’t want to see because you thought Kaidan would be standing with them.” Erisa nodded, but her smile didn’t fade. “I really don’t know if he’s there, Ash. Last night, when you stayed with me... that was the first time in six years I hadn’t seen them. And that’s all _you._ That’s what I meant when I said when you hold me, the nightmares don’t come.” Lifting her head, she stretched up and kissed Ashley again, the contact soft and loving, without the intense passion of earlier. Ash returned the affectionate kiss and gently stroked Erisa’s hair. When they parted, Shepard finished her tale. “After the brass reviewed all the incident reports and evidence collected from Akuze, I was promoted to lieutenant commander and made an N7. I never could figure out why, not when all I’d done was gotten my entire platoon killed.” She gave a shrug and a yawn overtook her, their physical exertions that evening, as well as the intense emotions of talking about Akuze, finally catching up to her. Ash gave a soft smile and pulled the woman she loved in close, kissing her forehead one last time. “C’mon, we better get _some_ sleep tonight. Big day tomorrow.” Erisa just nodded sleepily and slowly drifted off, feeling utterly loved and completely safe in Ashley’s perfect, strong arms.

\-------------------------------------------

Shepard was awake, but definitely not ready to get up yet, happily lying in bed cuddled with Ashley, who was still sleeping soundly, playing the role of ‘little spoon’, snuggled up against her front. She was content to just hold her lover a bit longer, relishing in that unique scent of shampoo and gun oil that was Ash’s smell, and her smell alone; the perfume of it riding the air with every inhale across the back of Ashley’s neck. She still couldn't quite believe that last night had really happened, despite all the clear evidence to the contrary; and she really hoped Ash didn't wake up this morning with second thoughts. That could lead to serious complications in their blossoming romance; worse yet it could devastate their friendship, but Shepard really didn't want to have to face that yet. They still had close to twelve hours before they reached the Pax system and Noveria, plenty of time for a leisurely morning before she’d have to finalise the mission packets and decide on squad assignments. Rather less enjoyable was the prospect of talking to Liara and preparing her for what was coming when they confronted her mother, Benezia. Suddenly her stomach rumbled and she realised she was famished. A wry smile crossed her lips as she felt Ash’s naked body pressed against hers and she thought back to last night and just why she was so starving; they _had_ expended a considerable amount of energy on one another. Breakfast was starting to sound like a damn good idea. She gave Ashley an affectionate squeeze and snuck her arm out from underneath in an attempt to not wake the brunette, all to no avail. As soon as Erisa started to pull away, Ash's sleepy brown eyes flickered open and her face lit with a small, welcoming smile, prompting Shepard to lean in and give her a soft kiss, morning breath be damned. "Morning, _mndani_. I was just going to go grab us some breakfast. I won’t be long.”

Awake now, Ashley sat up and stretched, yawning, the sheet falling away and giving Erisa a wonderfully distracting view. Her brown eyes watched Shepard’s gaze drift south and she grinned, snapping her fingers in front of Erisa’s face. “Hey, eyes front marine.”

Shepard looked up guiltily and grinned. “It’s not my fault the girls are so damn perfect,” she pouted playfully, “Am I _seriously_ not supposed to look at them when you stretch like that?”

Ashley smirked and reached down beside the bed, groping for her shirt; an eyebrow cocked in good humoured inquiry. “The ‘girls’? Is that _really_ what we’re calling my tits now?”

Erisa shrugged, grinning naughtily. “Well, I don’t know about _us_ , but I am.”

Ash gave a snort and shook her head, “Nice to know my girlfriend objectifies me just as much as a boyfriend would.” She paused and flushed ever so slightly, then smirked at Shepard. “Wow... feels weird saying that. _Girl_ friend. I have a _girlfriend_.”

‘Risa chuckled. “You’ll get used to it. Believe me, you’re a natural at the sex part.” She slipped out of bed and stood, stretching before walking to her wardrobe. Now it was Ash’s turn to unabashedly stare and Erisa smirked as she took a spare set of sweats out of the wardrobe and tossed them towards Ashley. “Eyes front, marine,” she snapped good naturedly, turning Ash’s words back on her. Pulling on underwear then a clean set of sweatpants, she dragged a long sleeve tee over her head then slipped on an N7 hoodie; zipping it up. “What do you feel like for breakfast?”

Ash slipped out of bed and dressed quickly, not quite trusting herself not to jump Erisa’s bones the longer she stayed nude. At the question about breakfast she shrugged then looked towards the cabin door, biting her lip. “Uh... you do realise that the minute you go out there we’re _out_ , right? I mean as a couple, not the other thing... though I guess that also applies in my case. Even though I’m not _really_ gay...”

Shepard smirked at that and cocked an eyebrow. “Oh? After last night I think I can testify pretty conclusively that you are at least a _little_ gay, Ash. And yes, I know what going out there means. But we can’t exactly hide in here forever, can we? Not if we want to stop Saren and Sovereign from overrunning the galaxy with sentient killer robot megasquids.” Her description of Sovereign made Ashley laugh, a warm and happy noise that filled Shepard’s heart with love. Freshly dressed, Ash moved to Erisa’s side, handing her a blue glove. “Come on, we may as well go face the music together. The sooner we let them get the teasing out of their systems, the sooner we can focus on the job still at hand.” Slipping on the glove first, Erisa then dropped her hand to take Ashley’s and she leant over to kiss her lover softly.

“Wise words, Williams. Wise words.” Hand in hand, the pair headed for the mess and whatever teasing might come.

\-------------------------------

As soon as Shepard and Williams stepped out the door onto the main crew deck, they realized quickly almost everyone was there. Hesitating only briefly before realizing they didn't really have a choice, the pair walked over to the mess counter and grabbed a tray each, starting to stack them with food... an inordinately large amount of food, plus navy style coffee. Any silent prayers the pair had that everyone was either too tired or too hung over from Kaidan’s wake to notice them went unanswered as when they walked past the mess’ central tables towards the more private one usually reserved for the Commander, Wrex spoke up and in his most nonchalant gruff voice, was just plain blunt. "About damn time."

Shepard could feel the heat creeping up her face and thanked God for her African heritage once again; but Ashley wasn’t so lucky and her cheeks flamed red. Turning on the spot, Shepard walked over to where the assembled ground crew, along with Joker and Karin were having breakfast, and put her tray down. Ashley came to her side and with a deep breath, Erisa reached down to take her hand; their fingers interlacing and the pair stood together, defying anyone to say anything. Not that they had to, the sly smiles and knowing looks that passed between everyone else meant it was pretty obvious they all knew what had happened. Meeting it head on, Shepard sighed and made a ‘bring it on’ gesture with her free hand. “Okay, let’s hear it.” No one said anything though, pretending not to have heard her as they ate their breakfasts or drank their morning coffees with a distinct singularity of purpose. Even though she felt her blush burn hot, Shepard realised what good friends she’d found in her crew and couldn’t cover a smile. “Really?” she asked sardonically, “Nothing? Not even you Joker?” Moreau looked away and started whistling ‘Dixie’; it lasted only a few moments before the entire thing descended into farce and Garrus was the first to crack. It quickly spread through the entire group and by the end even Erisa and Ashley were grinning.  Shepard shook her head and looked at Ash for approval, getting a smile and a nod, before she spoke up. “Okay, one: yes, Chief Williams and I spent the night together in my cabin, two: what we did in there is most _definitely_ none of your damn business,” she said with a wry grin, “and three: yes, we are officially coming out as a couple. Happy now?”

The smiles and grins they received were answer enough and it was Garrus who spoke first, bringing up a calendar on his omnitool’s holodisplay. “Okay, who had... June 14th?” he said, double checking the date. Wrex, who hadn’t stopped eating, paused long enough to grin and tap the table in front of him. Hands went into pockets and soon every last one of them was ponying up credit chips, a small pile accumulating in front of the big krogan’s plate. That was enough to shock Shepard, and Ashley stared at the pile of credits, mortified. “You were running a sweepstakes on if we’d get together?” Shepard asked in a strangled voice. It was her fellow operative who answered, an evasive look on his bird-like face, mandibles twitching in embarrassment. “Of course not, Commander. That would be crass.”

Joker nodded and continued for him. “Yeah, besides, _if_ sorta implies there was a chance you wouldn’t eventually hook up. This was more of a _when_ kinda deal. Ma’am.”

Shepard just shook her head in disbelief and looked at Karin and Liara as the two women shifted uncomfortably, embarrassed as they too added credit chips to the pile in front of Wrex. “Et tu, doctors?” Shepard asked forlornly, a little disappointed in them.

Karin was the first to speak, a dry note of maternal sarcasm in her voice. “It seemed harmless enough, my dear. I _was_ the one who pushed the two of you to explore your obviously mutual feelings after all.”

Liara just smiled softly. “And don’t forget Commander; I was in your minds for a short time. I saw no harm in placing a few credits on what was clearly inevitable. Sadly, my timing was a little off.”

After Wrex swept his winnings off the table, the newly committed couple joined their friends for breakfast; a little embarrassed but happy to weather the storm of good natured jibes and jests as they ate; knowing that together they could endure anything. Since they were all there anyway, Shepard decided it was as good a time as any for a briefing on their next mission: Noveria. “Well, you all know the kind of reception we’re looking to expect and the limitations of my Spectre authority at Port Hanshan. What you don’t know is last night I received confirmation from the Consort that Matriarch Benezia is currently on planet; last seen heading for the Binary Helix research facility of Peak 15. She’s being escorted by a full complement of Asari commandos and I think we can probably expect to find at least some of Saren’s imitation Krogan and a sizeable force of Geth there as well. The reports of geth activity have been independently verified so we know they’re planetside. As to what we can expect at Peak 15, we’re short on any kind of intelligence so we’ll have to move slowly and assess the situation once we get on site.” She paused to sip at her coffee before it cooled too much and ate a little breakfast before continuing. “We’ll be taking the entire team groundside on this, as far as Port Hanshan at least, and further depending on what access to vehicles we have. If required, I’ll need you to drop the Mako as close to the garage as possible, Joker.”  


Moreau nodded. “Aye ma’am. I’d better get back to the bridge; we’ll be coming out of FTL soon and transiting to the next Relay. We’re still some distance out from the Pax system but once there I’ll move us into geosynchronous orbit above Hanshan and get us clearance to land.”

“Good man. Now, I’ll be leading Alpha with Garrus and Liara. The chief here,” she said with a smile as she nodded to Ashley, “will be taking over command of Bravo from Kaidan. Chief, you’ve got Wrex and Tali. Alpha will load out for organics; the commandos, krogan and anything else with a pulse are our primaries. Bravo will take the synthetics.” She looked at her chrono. “We’ve got roughly eight hours till we make port. Local time will be about 10:00. Get some rest if you need it then prep your gear for cold weather. Noveria’s pretty arctic and Hanshan’s in a high altitude alpine belt.” Looking about at her team, she nodded at their confirmations. “Good. Liara... could I talk to you in private for a moment?”

After the briefing, Shepard drew the Asari aside and broached a rather difficult subject. "Liara, with Sha'ira’s confirmation that your mother is on Noveria, there’s a chance Saren could be there as well. I want them to be there, and for this hunt to be over."

Liara nodded earnestly and replied, "I understand, Commander. It will be good to see this mission come to a conclusion; before it is too late and Saren finds a way to return the Reapers to our galaxy."

Shepard schooled her expression, giving the young Asari a grave look as she shook her head. "No. I’m sorry Liara, but I don't think you quite understand what I’m trying to say; what I need you to prepare yourself for. If Benezia is indoctrinated, and we’ve no reason to believe otherwise, then I can't count on her surrendering. A peaceful resolution would be ideal, for the both of you, but I have to be prepared for the possibility that it could go the other way. I need _you_ to be prepared for that possibility too."

Shepard stopped speaking for a moment and just watched Liara, waiting for the archaeologist to process the data and truly understand the implications of what she was saying. When she saw Liara's face go blank, devoid of any emotion, and then her eyes start to tear, Shepard knew she had realized just what they may end up facing. Shepard slowly reached across the space between them and laid a gentle hand on the Asari’s shoulder. The contact startled Liara, and she looked at Shepard, then closed her eyes, mouthing one word so quietly that Erisa saw her lips move but no sound came from them. "Goddess."

Shepard didn't push, she just waited for Liara to decide on her own what path she would take. The only thing Shepard prepared to do was keep Liara from running off, should she decide to bolt. Now that the topic had been broached; they had to resolve it, Shepard couldn’t risk taking the Asari with them if she might compromise their mission. She was fairly confident Liara would do no such thing, she knew the repercussions for the entire galaxy should Saren and Benezia succeed, but emotions were a tricky thing, as she’d lately rediscovered. Slowly, Liara raised her head and met Shepard’s eyes, speaking. "If everything we fear is true, that my mother is working for Saren, then I will do what is required. You have not tried to deceive me, nor have you hidden any of the truth of what you have discovered. You have accepted me as an equal crew member on the Normandy, and you have trusted me with your life, quite literally." Liara let out a shaky sigh and continued. "If my mother is there, and she proves to be a...." Liara could not bring herself to say the word traitor. "...if she does not deny the allegations, then we must take whatever action is necessary. I am with you to the end, Shepard." Liara's eyes pleaded for a peaceful resolution on the day.

Still clasping Liara's shoulder, Shepard pulled Liara close and gave her a comforting hug, knowing Ashley would understand. They in part owed their happiness to the young doctor and Erisa knew they’d have to be there for her in the days to come, as she had for them. She spoke softly, doing her best to comfort her blue friend. “I'll do everything I can to end this peacefully, Liara, I promise. And you don't have to come on this mission, not if you don’t want to..."

"No." Liara pulled back a bit, and was adamant. "Please, Commander. I have to go, if only to know the truth. If Mother is there, I have to be there too. I have to be able to talk to her. I might be able to convince her, to stop her..... You have to let me at least try!" Tears wet Liara's cheeks and Shepard nodded gently, she couldn’t really fathom the kind of distress that Liara had to be in, but she knew enough about pain to empathise.

“Okay. You’re on mission.” She craned her neck so she could catch Liara’s downcast eyes and gently rubbed her shoulder. “You’re not in this alone, okay Liara? Ash and I owe you big time, so if... _when_ you need us, we’ll be there. Don’t try and carry this alone; I know what it can do to a person.”

Liara nodded slowly and reached up to clasp the hand at her shoulder. “Thank you, Shepard.”


	21. Corporate Politics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OSD = Optical Storage Drive  
> mndani = sweetheart (Sotho)

They had anticipated being greeted with at least suspicion, if not outright hostility once they reached Noveria, and the corporate flight controller didn’t disappoint. It had taken invoking Shepard's Spectre status just to secure a landing vector and docking berth, with the threat that the Normandy would be impounded if her status and credentials could not be verified.  Standing on the bridge in her newly painted blue and white Assassin hard suit, an M90 Indra over her left shoulder and a pair of N7 Hurricanes at her waist, Shepard listened as Joker finagled his way past the red tape, finally closing the comm channel with a roll of his eyes. “What a _fun_ bunch. I think I’ll take my next leave here.”

Shepard smirked and shook her head. “Something tells me they’re not mai-tai and luau types, Moreau. Take us down. Once we’re in dock I’ll take Alpha ahead and scout the facility. Have Williams and Bravo ready to join us. Oh, and put the Normandy into lockdown. No one gets onboard without my authorisation. I trust this lot about as far as I can throw Wrex.” Joker grinned. “So... absolutely no distance at all then. Gotcha, Commander.” Shaking her head, she smiled faintly and headed for the airlock where Garrus and Liara waited. Under Joker’s effortless guidance, the SSV Normandy made a smooth landing and they soon heard the thump and hiss as the exterior gangway made contact and formed a hard seal. Once docked, Alpha squad disembarked and walked toward the Port Hanshan entrance, only to be greeted by an unfriendly, armed group.

A slim woman of Oriental heritage, dressed in a light combat hard suit and standing in the centre of the group of three held up her hand, "That's far enough.”

Shepard’s eyes narrowed and she hoped they weren’t going to encounter this kind of obstruction at every step along their way. “Something wrong, officer?”

“You better hope there isn't.” The commander’s gaze tracked right and she assessed the new speaker; a slightly older, blonde woman who held herself with an air that spoke of formal military training... and arrogance. She noted a set of sergeant’s stripes at her hard suit’s collar and the name “Stirling” printed on her chest plate.

Thankfully, the sergeant’s commander was a little less aggressive and patiently explained. “This is an unscheduled arrival. I'll need your credentials."

Shepard blew a huffing breath out of her nostrils and eyed the security detail as she spoke, her voice chill. “You first."

The tough looking Sergeant Stirling growled out, "We're the law here, show some respect!" but her oriental commander glanced at the blonde and answered calmly, "I'm Captain Maeko Matsuo, Elanus Risk Control Services."

"Lieutenant Commander Shepard; Council Spectre."

The blonde barked out, "That’s a load of horse crap, ma'am!" Matsuo again glanced at the blonde, and told Shepard, "We will need to confirm that. Also, I must advise you that firearms are not permitted on Noveria." Looking at the blonde, she followed with "Sergeant Stirling, secure their weapons." At that, Shepard quickly drew one of her Hurricanes and pointed it at the captain, while Garrus unshouldered his brand new Valkyrie and Liara glowed blue with biotic power, her squad backing their commander.

A brief standoff ensued, and Garrus’ attempted to keep things from escalating. “Citadel authority supersedes yours, Captain.” Shepard never wavered, keeping her sights on the captain and bluntly ending any chance of negotiation. "Only way you’re getting our weapons is when you pry them out of our cold, dead hands... Captain.”

The gruff blonde took that as a challenge and Shepard saw her eyes light up at the prospect of combat. She’d seen that look before, usually in the eyes of soldiers who were quickly given a Category Six discharge; psychologically unsuitable for service. “Charge and lock!”

Captain Matsuo remained as calm as still waters and spoke softly, trusting in her perceived authority. “We are authorised to use lethal force. You have to the count of three to surrender your weapons. One... two... th...”

A voice came over a loudspeaker at the last moment, preventing what could have been a poor start to their visit. "Capt Matsuo, stand down. We've confirmed their identity. Spectres are authorized to carry weapons here, Captain."

Everyone cautiously lowered their weapons and Captain Matsuo motioned toward the door. "You may proceed, Spectre. I hope the rest of your visit will be less... confrontational. Parasini-san will meet you upstairs."

Stirling looked incredibly disappointed, like she was itching for a fight, and grumbled a veiled threat at the commander, "Behave yourself," before stepping aside to let them pass.

As they entered the port, the entire team noted two floating defence drones; Shepard was very glad the brief confrontation didn't end up being more. They went up a short set of stairs to the right, and walked into a very small lobby. As Shepard entered, she crossed through a blue beam and alarms started going off. A woman behind the lobby counter moved efficiently to shut them down.

"Weapons detectors; don't mind the alarms... I'm Gianna Parasini, assistant to Administrator Anoleis. We apologize for the incident in the docking bay."

Shepard smiled as diplomatically as she could manage, "I appreciate your help; that could have gotten ugly without your timely... intervention."

"You're welcome. You understand our security chief was only doing her job. One of my jobs is orientation of new arrivals. Do you have any questions?"

Shepard had quite a few, and went straight to work getting them answered. Most importantly, she asked about any unusual visitors, only to discover Matriarch Benezia had passed through just a few days prior, on her way to the Peak 15 Research Centre; she had not yet returned. _Well, that confirms the Consort’s intel, at least._ Liara could not help but react, "Benezia? She is here?" Shepard heard the question, but pressed on without pause and asked how to get to the site. Parasini informed Shepard she would need to get clearance from Anoleis to leave the port. After getting directions to the administrator's office, Shepard turned to Liara to discuss the situation and double check one more time Liara's emotional state. As soon as Shepard turned around, Liara's eyes met hers. Liara spoke, tension obvious in her voice. "She is really here. I cannot believe it... I- I imagine you want to talk to me Shepard, about my mother."

Shepard watched Liara's face for a moment then shook her head. “No, I don't. I trust you, Liara. You may not be military but you're part of my crew. The real question is, do _you_ still want to do this?”

Liara took a deep breath, and her voice was calm and level when she spoke next. "Yes. I have to, Commander. I must know. I cannot back out now. I... would never forgive myself." Shepard said nothing, just watched her blue friend’s face another moment then nodded; her expression tightly under control. She had little hope that this would end like Liara hoped, or how she had promised. Opening a channel to the Normandy, she contacted Ashley. “Okay LT, bring Bravo out. They’ve got itchy trigger fingers out here; I want all hands on this one. Watch your six.” With receipt of her message confirmed, the team headed for the elevator up to the main port. On the way, Shepard noted yet another defence drone.  _ERCS is pretty serious about their security... things could get nasty if I don’t play nice... which isn't exactly my strong suit. Good thing Ash is bringing out Bravo._

Once they entered the main facility, Shepard waited for Bravo to ride up in the elevator. “You guys take a walk,” she said as Ash and her squad joined them, “I don’t trust these ERCS goons so get a look at them, I want a risk assessment.” Ash nodded curtly and was about to give her squad orders when Shepard called her back quietly, “Just don’t make it obvious that you’re doing a risk assessment.” The chief gave her an exasperated look and the commander shrugged. “I don’t know... act casual.” Leaving a bewildered and amused Ashley behind her, she motioned to Alpha squad and they headed to the Administrator's office.

After another brief conversation with his assistant, Gianna Parasini, they were admitted to the Administrator’s office. Anoleis was not pleased with the Spectre's arrival, already speaking as Shepard walked in. “You will excuse me if I don't stand up. I have no time to entertain colonial rubes.”

That set Shepard’s teeth to grinding almost immediately but she clamped down on her anger and forced another diplomatic smile. “I see you looked up my service record.”

“Only a fool enters negotiation without knowledge of the other party's tendencies.” The Salarian administrator said brusquely. “This greeting is a courtesy. I will only cooperate as required by the Executive Board. Businesses come here to avoid the second-guessing of galactic law.”

Shepard had to restrain from rolling her eyes. “I'm not here to investigate your tenants, Administrator.”

Anoleis shook his head dismissively at her assurances. “I highly doubt that, Spectre. You will understand I have a responsibility to keep you away from them. Spectres are not exactly encumbered by a need for due process.”

They were getting nowhere fast, so Shepard cut to the chase. “I've heard an asari Matriarch is here. Benezia?”

Anoleis nodded curtly. “She arrived a few days ago, accompanied by a personal escort and some cargo. She is up at Peak 15.”

“Do you know what brought her out here?”

The administrator shook his head. “Even if I knew, I wouldn't be at liberty to say, Commander. I believe she came as Agent Saren's executor. Saren is, after all, a major shareholder in Binary Helix. And the Lady Benezia is authorised to act in his name. She is here on business.” He smiled smugly, his arrogance undermining his discipline as his usually tight lips slipped. “Apparently there were issues at Peak 15 that required Saren's attention.”

Shepard couldn’t keep up the facade and her polite expression slid off of her face, revealing a stony countenance and an icy voice followed it. “Former, Anoleis. Saren is a _former_ agent. He is now wanted by the Council for war crimes and I am authorised to execute him on sight, should his apprehension be deemed too problematic. You may want to remind your security personnel and your clients that aiding or abetting the fugitive, Saren Arterius, could have severe financial repercussions, as well as legal ones. And given that the Matriarch Benezia has been positively identified as one of his accomplices, it would be wise to assist my investigation. Now, I would very much like to see her. _Immediately._ ”

Anoleis reacted smoothly to the news of Saren’s fugitive status, with all the aplomb of a practiced politician, and his tone became slightly more cooperative, though the change never reached his large, alien eyes. “I see. I was not aware of Saren’s changed status. Very well, although I would like to assist you, I'm afraid that I cannot. Peak 15 is a _private_ facility in the Skadi Mountains. Regardless, there is a blizzard in the area. Shuttles are grounded, and surface access has been cut off.”

Shepard’s eyes narrowed. “Surface access, you say?”

“Cut off, I said. The roads are not suitable for travel.” He shook his head wearily, as if she was a tiresome child who didn’t understand. “Don't make an issue of this, Shepard.”

Garrus leant in close to the commander and whispered softly. “Forget him, Commander. If he won't help us, I'm sure someone here will.”

Seeing the wisdom in that statement, Shepard let it slide and asked about both the escort and the cargo. Anoleis sighed in frustration. The cargo had been scanned, with no banned substances or weapons traces found, and the escort was a group of Asari commandos, common enough escorts for a Matriarch, so everyone and everything was allowed to pass through.

She could only nod in agreement. “Very well. I have no more questions at this time, Administrator. Thank you for seeing me.”

Anoleis couldn’t resist one last jab. “Good. I received a dozen urgent messages while you dithered about.”

As they left the office, Gianna Parasini caught her eye and beckoned her over. “Mr Anoleis isn't the only one with a pass to leave Hanshan, you know.” She gave a patronising smile that just succeeded in irritating Shepard, but Erisa held her tongue. She needed results, not a sniping match with words. “You've never worked in the corporate world, have you Commander? You can't bludgeon through bureaucracy.”

Erisa gave a cold smile and flexed the fingers of her right hand, hearing the knuckles pop. “Don’t underestimate me, Parasini. I can bludgeon pretty hard.”

The administrator’s assistant kept a discreet smile despite the commander’s bravado and lowered her voice. “Talk to Lorik Qui'in. You should be able to find him at the hotel bar. Can't say more. Not within earshot of Mr Anoleis.” Shepard raised an eyebrow, but Gianna had returned her attention to the computer display before her and just waved the commander away. As Alpha squad walked to the hotel, Shepard got the feeling she was being led about by the nose. She didn’t like it and wondered just what interest Parasini had in getting her out of Port Hanshan. _There’s more going on here than there seems, that much is obvious. Why the hell does the corporate world have to be so much like the political one? God, is soldiering really the only honest profession left?_

There weren't many people in the hotel bar this early in the morning, so it didn’t take long to find Mr Qui’in. The fact he was turian surprised her a little, but then she realised even the Hierarchy and Palaven had to have businessmen too. As Shepard approached, he looked up at her over a glass and smiled. “Morning. Sit down, have a drink. What can I do for you?”

Declining the offer, Shepard got straight to the point. She didn’t like playing games, and right now she had the feeling she was being stitched up. “Are you Lorik Qui'in? I've heard you might be able to help me.”

The businessman’s drunken demeanour slipped a fraction as he appraised her over his glass and she had to hide a smirk. Maybe Qui’in could be of use...  “You are the Spectre that just arrived, are you not? What could an old turian like me possibly help you with?”

Shepard smirked. “I get the feeling you could help me with just about anything I needed... for the right price. But right now? I'm trying to find a way into the garage. I have places to go.”

Lorik smiled dryly, any facade of inebriation vanishing like mist. “You need a pass. How fortuitous.” He paused and looked about the bar. “I'm the manager of the local Synthetic Insights office. For the moment, at least. Mr Anoleis closed my office. He claims to be investigating reports of my corruption.” A sly smirk crossed what passed for turian lips and his mandibles chattered briefly. “The administrator is an interesting man. He has become quite wealthy since he took direct control of rents.”

Even Shepard knew what _that_ meant.  “And by 'rents' you mean bribes.”

The old turian nodded. “Indeed. I have recently acquired evidence of Anoleis' actions. No doubt his hired goons are ransacking my office even as we speak, hoping to find it.” He looked hard at Shepard, scrutinising her. “I suspect your goal lies outside this port. Mr Anoleis would be disinclined to let you wander. If, however, you recover the evidence from my office I will give you my garage pass, as well as a sum of credits.”

 _Okay, now we’re getting somewhere._ “You have a plan?”

“I do. However, there is one other- what is that charming human expression? ‘Fly in the lotion?’ Violence against Mr Anoleis' thugs may be necessary.” Qui’in toyed with the ice cube in his drink, checking to see if they were being watched. “He has members of Hanshan's security team searching my offices and he is paying them under the table. Ms Matsuo is undoubtedly unaware of their outside employment.”

She gave a smile and cracked her knuckles at that. “That won’t be an issue. If he's paying them under the table, then they're mercenaries. And I can kill mercenaries.”

Lorik went as far as to even chuckle at her renewed interest. “Excellent. Here's my pass into our offices. It will activate the elevator. The evidence is on my office computer. This OSD contains an encryption key to access it. Slide it into the drive and it will auto-execute.” He watched Shepard turn, and then called out to her softly. “Oh, and do try to keep bloodstains off the carpet, would you?”

As they headed for the elevator, Shepard commed Ashley. "Meet us at the elevator to Synthetic Insights. Lower mezzanine, west wall. We’re getting no love from the management here so we’re back to helping the locals for favours.” She paused and reached under her visor to pinch the bridge of her nose. “I swear, _mndani_ , I'm feeling more and more like a politician every time we set foot outside the Normandy."

Ashley laughed and responded, switching her channel to private. "No, sweetie, you’re _anything_ but a politician. For a start, they don’t carry high calibre firearms and have a propensity for excessive force.”

Shepard snorted quietly. “Did you just call me a brute? Cause it kinda feels like you just called me a brute.”

The reply was filled with equal parts teasing and love. “Yeah... but you’re _my_ brute.”

\-------------------------------

When the two squads rendezvoused outside the Synthetic Insights office, Shepard outlined the plan so far: break into Synthetic Insights, neutralise any threats inside, locate and download Qui’in’s evidence; extract and swap evidence for a garage pass. When it came to deciding on a mission approach, well; their initial frosty reception, Anoleis’ arrogance and disdain and the political games of Parasini and Qui’in all left Erisa feeling less than generous. So when Garrus asked what protocols they’d be following and who was infiltrating the office with her, her answer was blunt and perhaps a little heavy-handed. “Full deployment. One warning, after that, terminate with extreme prejudice. I’m about done playing nice with these ERCS goons. If they don’t drop their arms when ordered to, you drop them.”  

As soon as the elevator doors opened after a short ride up; the entire Normandy fire team swept out of the carriage. They moved fast and quiet; every sightline covered, every contingency prepared for. It was an intimidating sight for the two guards at the doorway who quickly disarmed when ordered to by Garrus; dropping weapons and comm. equipment to the floor before  they walked out, leaving Shepard and her team free to enter the office. That, however, did not solve the bigger issue. There were still a number of guards inside who weren’t quick enough to comprehend exactly what they were facing and how precarious their own positions really were. But, as Shepard had promised Qui’in, they took care of it. The six man team made quick work of the two guards on the lower level, with Tali and Garrus overloading shields, Liara and Wrex lifting them helplessly into the air, and Ashley doing target practice; neatly dropping the two in seconds. That left Shepard free to hunt; and cloaking, she stalked towards the steps that led up to the next level. A third guard came running around the corner to join the fight downstairs; only for a high velocity round from her new Indra to punch clean through his weak kinetic barrier before piercing the hard plates of his chest piece. He fell without a sound; shot through the heart.

A fourth guard ran around the corner above her and nearly stumbled over the body of the third; lying just at the top of the steps. A momentary glitch in her cloak caused her outline to flicker and that was all it took for the guard to think better of it, ducking back into cover. It didn't matter though, as the combined fire of the Normandy team quickly ended the fight. Moving upstairs, they swept the offices quickly and cleanly before finally they moved on to Lorik's personal office. Once in, Tali slid the OSD into a drive slot, watching as it auto-executed and extracted the encrypted evidence files. Leaving Synthetic Insights however, proved to be more of a challenge. Letting the first two guards leave had been a tactical misstep, one of Shepard’s rare lapses, and it had given them the opportunity to call in reinforcements. As Shepard led her team across the upper walkway back onto the mezzanine floor, they found Sergeant Stirling waiting for them, with a team of six more behind her. “I don't think you're supposed to be in here, Shepard,” she drawled sarcastically, that wild look dancing behind her eyes again.

Erisa played for time, doing a quick head count and giving her squad time to spread out a little more; slowly edging out of the killbox they’d foolishly walked right into. “Do you plan on making me leave?” she asked Stirling, needling the ERCS sergeant.

“Leave?” The tough blonde sneered at the commander. “You think I'm going to let you walk out? Uh-uh. Anoleis would throw you off world for what you did here. I won't. You know what we did to cop-killers on my world?”

Shepard just smirked cruelly. “I’m gonna take a guess and say you’re planning on showing me. What’s the matter _sarge_?” she said, emphasising the blonde’s rank, continuing to bait her. “Has a bunch of real marines showing up reminded you of just what a Class A fuck-up you must have been for the Corps to Cat-6 you and hurl you out on your sorry ass?”

That was enough to push Stirling over the edge and she snarled angrily, her hand glowing blue as she summoned up a mass effect field. “Fuck you, jarhead!” she swore as she tossed a warp at the commander. Shepard had been ready for it though and leapt to the side, her hands going for the Hurricanes at her hips. From there it was all on. Wrex launched a singularity that collapsed Stirling's shields, and Shepard continued moving right, her SMGs strafing the ERCS sergeant, the two rapid fire weapons pouring a storm of shredder rounds into the blonde to devastating effect. Ashley and Liara ducked down behind a wall and worked hard to pin two guards down on the lower level, and Tali launched an attack drone whilst Garrus dropped another of the rent-a-soldiers with a clean headshot from his rifle. Still moving to cover while firing, Shepard switched her aim to one of the guards left on the mezzanine, but her survivor’s instincts started to scream at her. Listening to them, she stopped firing and threw herself towards the nearest cover; rolling across the floor as a high velocity round whistled past her ear.

Crouched behind a box, she smoothly triggered her tactical cloak and poked her head out of cover to hunt for the shooter. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a familiar flicker, the telltale sign of a cloak glitching after being struck by a stray round, and she knew there was a sniper in the room. The crack of his longarm rang out rang out again, higher pitched than the staccato barks and yaps of the Normandy team’s Valkyries and Hurricanes, and from her position of relative safety she watched in horror as the shooter tagged Ashley, another hyper accelerated round completely dropping her shields and slamming into the chestplate of her Predator hard suit with enough force to knock her sideways and down. Time slowed down for Erisa, and through the haze of red mist that descended on her vision, she saw Garrus rushing to the chief’s side.

Ashley had been firing tight, controlled bursts from her Valkyrie, pinning one of the ERCS soldiers into position on the ground floor so he wouldn’t be able to join in the firefight on the mezzanine when felt a sudden impact throw her to the right and it felt like she’d been punched in the chest by a Krogan Warlord. Clamping down on a yell of pain, she managed to roll back into cover behind the walkway wall before she finally cried out in agony; white-knuckling it through the pain as she tried to breathe, her weapon out of reach across the narrow walkway. _Damn it! Right in the chest! Mother fucker that hurts._ Jamming her hands over the entry wound, she applied as much pressure as she could, but she could feel herself slipping into shock.Her eyes closed as she felt someone's knee jab into her side as they slid into cover beside her. Her last conscious thought was  _‘Risa_.


	22. Getting Results

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mkundu = asshole  
> tango = military code for target  
> mndani = sweetheart

Having seen Williams go down, Shepard was about to fall back to check on Ashley when she saw Vakarian slide in beside her. With Ash being looked after, Erisa focused her energies; her _rage_ , on the person that had injured her beloved. She was furious but quickly shut down her instinctive response and analysed the situation. Wrex was pouring out shotgun fire and tossing warps at the three remaining ERCS troopers on the first floor, Liara was trying desperately to keep the two troops on the lower level out of the fight whilst not exposing herself to the sniper, and Garrus was treating Ash. That left Tali crouched behind cover, directing her attack drone at the same three Wrex was fighting, keeping them on their toes with overloads and micro-missiles from her drone. The elusive sniper was number one on her shit list, and she scanned the battlefield for any more flickers that might give away his cloak. Nothing. _Fuck it, time to go old school,_ she thought and pulled a grenade from her combat harness. Keying her helmet mic to squad wide, she made the call as she rolled the canister out into the centre of the room. “Popping smoke!”

Soon a billowing fog of thick grey smoke had enveloped the top floor and Shepard watched with eagle eyes for the tell tale signs of a cloaked figure moving through the mists. It didn’t take long before she spotted a void in the smoke; an unclouded section roughly man sized. Gotcha. Slipping out of cover, she dropped her cloak to prevent him spotting her in the same manner and began to stalk her prey. She flanked him and kept to cover, moving low and silent until she was right behind him; then she waited for the bastard to line up another shot. With his attention focused down his scope, she flicked on her nanoblade and closed, striking with her left arm first. She got lucky and judged his position perfectly, her arm snaking about his throat and she drove the glowing orange blade into his right armpit, the hissing blade piercing armour like a hot knife through butter as she skewered his heart. “You shot the wrong woman, _mkundu_ ,” she hissed in his ear, before twisting the blade and wrenching it free viciously. As the smoke cleared, she could see that Wrex and Tali had accounted for two more, which still left one guard upstairs and one down. Tali's drone was still harassing the upstairs guard and had weakened his shields significantly, so Shepard finished him off easily with a burst of shredders from her Hurricane. Tali launched a replacement drone to hunt down the sole remaining ERCS, who was still downstairs.

From his position at the rear of the squad Garrus had seen Ashley take the sniper hit. He’d instantly feared the worst, but had been relieved to see her crawl back into cover. Now though, she was barely moving, and Garrus was worried. Staying low, hecrossed the open area between them and slid into cover beside the chief, who grunted slightly when the turian bumped to a stop against her side.  _Thank the Spirits, she's alive._  He engaged his cloak and popped up over the walkway wall, neatly sniping the ERCS trooper Ash had been keeping pinned, before he dropped back into cover to assess Ashley’s wound. For a brief moment he felt nothing but pity for the sniper who’d taken the shot. He knew from experience that Shepard could be a cold and remorseless hunter... only the Spirits knew what she’d do to the man who had injured her mate. When he heard the warning that Shepard was popping smoke, he knew then that she was taking this personally; she planned to hunt the sniper and take him up close, presumably so she could make his death last longer and be just that much more painful. All hostiles on the upper level had been neutralised and Tali and Liara were handling the remaining tango well enough on their own, so Garrus focused on their wounded. Releasing the catches on Ash’s Predator hard suit, he peeled it open and assessed the damage. With the trademark calm and discipline of the galaxy’s strongest, most professional military, Garrus pulled out his field med kit and went to work. _It’s not a through and through, thank the Spirits_ ; the upgraded shields and the much heavier plating of Ashley’s new hard suit had bled off most of the round’s kinetic energy. That meant the bullet would be lodged somewhere close to the surface, in the first few layers of muscle tissue. He’d have to dig. Ripping open a small packet of bleed stop, he dumped it in the hole just beneath her left breast; slowing the flow so Ashley wouldn't bleed out while he worked. Using his omnitool scanner and a pair of nano-generated forceps, he probed the wound, eventually finding and extracting the large calibre round. She’d been lucky, he realised, the bullet had lodged between her fourth and fifth ribs, burying itself in her intercostal muscles. Every breath would have felt like being stabbed in the chest by a hot poker. If you could call that lucky; at least it hadn’t gone right through to puncture her lung or nick any major arteries. _That has to hurt like a bitch. No wonder she's out._  "Sorry Ash, but this isn’t going to feel any better." With that, he squirted in a syringe of antiseptic rinse to cleanse the wound.

Ashley came awake with a sudden scream as the antiseptic properties of the rinse did a number on her exposed nerves and she flailed wildly with the shock until Garrus could grab her hands in his strong grip, a knee bracing her abdomen so she didn’t move too much and tear up her wound any further.  Garrus’ voice was oddly gentle as he calmed her down. "Easy there Ashley, calm down now.  Just focus on my voice okay? You took a pretty bad shot and I still need to close you up.” After the initial shockwave of pain and surprise passed, Garrus let go of her wrists and quickly, efficiently spread medigel onto the wound before suturing it shut with a medical staplegun, finishing the job with a pressure bandage. Ash’s tensed body relaxed as the pain killing properties started to take effect. Her screams though, brought Shepard running back over, Hurricane in hand.

As they arrived, Shepard breathed a sigh of relief and clapped Garrus on the shoulder, the concern and worry for Ashley plain to see. It eased off as she saw the clean and precise job the turian had done of treating the wound and she gave him a grateful smile. ‘Thank you Garrus. The room’s cleared. Once Ashley is up to it, we’re good to move out.”

For her part, Williams lay still for a few more minutes, until her breathing smoothed out and the pain meds took full effect. Erisa knelt down at her side to help refasten her armour and give her a hand standing. She didn't say a word, but Ash could see the fear that was written all over her face and Shepard slapped her shoulder, speaking gently so only Ash could hear her. “Don’t you _dare_ do that again, _mndani_.” Ash forced a pained smile and spoke softly, a shaking hand closing about one of Shepard’s. "Sorry skipper, but you and I both know getting hurt is going to be inevitable.” She smirked gently. “This is one of those pesky reasons they have those regs we’re ignoring, you know. Now come on, help me up." She was right and Erisa knew it, but still she didn't trust her voice, so only frowned flatly and nodded; helping Ash to her feet and supporting her until the chief was firmly standing on her own two feet.

Looking around, she had the rest of her squad sound off for injuries, and satisfied Ash was their only one she nodded. “Vakarian, see if you can restock your med kit from supplies here in the office; I'll check some of the other storage bins for anything good; Qui’in owes us that much for this mess. Now, let's get this the hell over with. I’m sick of this damn planet already."

As they stepped out of the elevator back at the main level, they were met by Parasini. "Commander, there have been reports of noise from the Synthetic Insights' office. Would you know anything about it?"

Shepard really wasn’t in the mood to play Parasini's game right now, so her response was almost a growl, "Yeah, I do. You might want to make sure the next lot of ERCS goons that come in read their contracts; specifically the bit about NOT taking off duty jobs as hired muscle for Anoleis and his extortion schemes.”

Parasini’s eyes narrowed and she gave a hard sigh. "You’re not making this easy, Shepard. You’re a hard ass but not a particularly smart one.” She paused, as if weighing her options. “Look, I’ll do what I can to keep this quiet. For now. Meet me at the hotel for a drink, before you talk to Qui’in. I'll be waiting." She vanished down the hallway before Shepard could ask any questions. Shepard let Ashley set the pace toward the hotel, watching her carefully as she tried to gauge just how combat effective the chief still was. For her part, Ashley moved carefully, trying to gently stretch and flex her torso, hoping to get a feel for her range of motion. She needed to know her limits before the next fight. When they reached the bar, Parasini was waiting.

As Shepard approached, she spoke softly, her voice suddenly filled with more authority than before. “Allow me to reintroduce myself. Parasini, Noveria Internal Affairs.”

The commander had to suppress a groan and instead nodded curtly, eyeing Parasini cautiously. _Great, a corporate cop, what fun._ “What do you want?”

For her part, Parasini was the consummate professional. “The Executive Board knows about Anoleis' corruption. I've been undercover for six months. I want you to convince Qui'in to testify before the Board. With his evidence, this planet can run profitably again.”

 _There it was. Profit. The one damn thing that really mattered to places like Noveria the galaxy over._ She frowned slightly, considering the IA operative’s request before ultimately rejecting it. “I'd like to help you, Miss Parasini, but I need Qui'in's garage pass. It's vital to my mission.”

“Yes, yes. Fate of billions and all that. I couldn't possibly understand how important your work is.” The sarcasm that dripped off of her words actually made Shepard smile. Maybe this Parasini wasn’t so bad after all. “Look, you help my investigation; I'll provide whatever you need. Favour for a favour.”

Garrus, still a cop to the bone, chimed in. “Anoleis is dirty. It might be best to help her.”

With the turian’s interjection, Parasini could see an opening and took it. “Look, Shepard, I don't like this either. You Spectres play fast and loose with the law. That's bad for business. But with Anoleis gone, a lot of people are going to be better off.”

Shepard threw up her hands in surrender, having to admit they had good arguments. “Alright, I'll talk to Qui'in and see if I can convince him.”

“Thank you. You know where I work. Come talk to me once you know if he'll play ball.”

Watching the IA agent leave the bar, she shook her head and then looked back to her squad. “Take five, guys. Ash... rest and keep an eye on that wound. Don’t go being a hero, if it needs medical treatment then return to the Normandy.” Williams nodded and gratefully took a seat. “Yes ma’am.”

“Good, time I talked to Qui’in.”

When she returned to the turian’s table, he looked up at her expectantly. “Always a pleasure, Spectre. Any news on that matter I asked you to look into?”

She nodded brusquely. “I finished the job. But an Internal Affairs investigator has contacted me. She wants you to testify against Anoleis.”

That didn’t please Lorik one bit and his tone became testy. “Now that you have my property you want to dictate how to use it? I have no interest in becoming a public spectacle.”

Gritting her teeth at playing politics again, Shepard did her best to convince him. Help from the IA was worth a lot more to her right now than some manager’s garage pass. “Look, everyone on this station is chafing under Anoleis' extortion. You might end up a hero.”

Lorik frowned, his mandibles clicking slowly. “It’s not that simple, Spectre. My employers rely on the goodwill of the Executive Board to work here.”

Shepard rolled her eyes. “The Board is the one investigating Anoleis. If anything, your testifying is only going to buy Synthetic Insights more favour, you jackass.”

The turian manager paused, pulled up short by her argument. “You... have a very valid point there, Shepard. Very well, I will testify. Make whatever arrangements you need to with your contact. I will wait here.”

A last visit to Parasini ended, rather poignantly Shepard thought, in Anoleis’ arrest and she was issued a garage pass and assurances that anything else she might require while on planet was probably achievable. Parasini left with the handcuffed administrator, calling back over her shoulder. “See you around the galaxy, Commander. I owe you a beer.”

Finally! They were making some headway. Radioing the rest of her squad she told them to meet her at the parking garage. When the six man squad reached the garage, an ERCS guard stopped them, but only momentarily, immediately recognizing the pass issued by Parasini. The team entered what seemed like an apparently empty garage, but Shepard’s instincts were on high alert; the hairs at the back of her neck standing up. “Stay frosty and make for cover... _slowly_ ,” she whispered down her comm. line, “we’re not alone in here but hopefully we haven’t been spotted yet.” Almost immediately, a barrage of sniper fire rocked the area they were standing in as Geth Hoppers leapt from wherever they’d been hiding to cling to the ceiling and open fire. Shepard quickly noticed Geth along the back wall as well, seeing at least two Destroyers and a Stalker. The commander started barking orders. “Liara, singularity on the Hoppers! Wrex, blow it once they’re in. Tali, Ash... light up the Stalker.” She and Garrus would handle the Destroyers personally. One by one the squad sprang into action as Liara targeted the Hoppers with her singularity, watching as the extreme gravitational forces overcame the grip the smaller geth units had on the ceiling. Once they were fully engulfed by the singularity, Wrex slammed it with a warp, the resulting detonation scattering scraps of geth over the garage floor. Tali launched an attack drone, and set to work pulling up an overload to hit the Stalker’s shields whilst Ash gunned it down with an enfilade of disruptor fire. The two Destroyers were furthest away but were quick to charge, their massive eight foot battle chassis’ closing quickly. Unfortunately for them, that meant running in a straight line at two cloaked snipers. The sharp crack of Shepard’s Indra was followed by the report of its twin in Garrus’ hands and the Destroyers went down, the powerful rifles and advanced weapon mods giving them far more of an edge than they’d had since Virmire. All it took was a single hyper velocity tungsten core round to the power core in each Geth platform’s abdomen and they were down, disabled permanently. In another Lift and Push combo, Wrex and Liara had also taken down a Rocket Trooper before it got off a single shot.

With the garage now cleared, they had access to a vehicle at last. Unlike Feros however, this time all they had to work with was an old M29 Grizzly. It was a standard version, heavy and dependable, good in bad weather with plenty of room. Shepard looked at the old personnel carrier fondly and grinned, gently running a hand along its armoured hull. "Damn... haven’t seen one of you big boys in a long while.” She approached the front of the vehicle and patted its nose like it was a big dog, a wistful look on her face. “What do you say, boy? You wanna go for a ride?” The sudden shift in her behaviour took Liara and Tali off guard and they both looked confused whilst the other three just smiled softly. It was Ash who put a hand on each woman’s shoulder and explained. “It’s a marine thing,” she said simply. “Before the Mako came out, a squad would ride into battle inside a Grizz... when you come to see a vehicle as something that keeps you safe and more often than not, carries you outta hell, you tend to get a little attached.” She looked over towards Shepard, a fondness in her eyes. “That, and Shepard can be a huge dork about old stuff.”  That got a smile from all three women and they approached the ugly old M29 as Shepard slid open the big steel door to the cabin. "Alright, pack ‘em in Chief. Gimme combat seating. We're going to Peak 15."


	23. Peak 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> makende = balls (Sotho)  
> HUD = Heads Up Display  
> shenzi tomba = dumb fuck (Sotho)  
> mndani = sweetheart (Sotho)

Piling into the Grizzly, Shepard moved to the pilot’s seat with Ashley taking the co-pilot’s; Garrus slipping behind the Gunner’s controls and Tali occupying the ECO station. The other two grabbed spots on the troop benches with Wrex closest to the door. The commander ran through the prestart checks quickly, all four of those behind a control panel doing the same. Flicking toggles and pressing buttons to prime the M29’s systems, Shepard sounded off first. “All drive systems reading green.”

“Nav systems are a go,” called out Ashley, bringing up the mapping systems.

“Communications, sensors and kinetic barriers are green across the board Shepard,” said Tali as she deftly brought the Grizzly’s ECO station to life.

“She’s old, but targeting, auto loaders and mass accelerators all read in the green, Commander,” Garrus replied from his position at the weapons console.

Shepard nodded at the positive reports and hit the ignition, grinning as the heavy rumbling of the big M29’s engines shook the entire cabin, and she revved the throttle, listening to it roar loudly before going back to a deep, throaty purr. The cabin plunged into a selection of reds as combat lighting came on and Shepard was about to plant her foot on the throttle but paused, suddenly fumbling through the pockets on her combat harness. Ash gave her a look, wondering what it was the commander had seemingly lost, but after a few moments Shepard came out with a triumphant “Aha!” Twisting in her chair, she tossed an old OSD to Tali and grinned. “Plug that into the audio drives and pipe it through both internal and external speakers. If we’re gonna do this old school, let’s do it properly.” Tali raised an eyebrow beneath her frosted faceplate but just shrugged and did as she was asked, turning the old, battered OSD over in her hands before plugging it in. Ash looked back, curious, and then gave a soft smile when she saw three numbers scrawled onto the back of the OSD... ‘323’.

Outside in the blustering, howling blizzard, the external garage doors opened and the heavy growl of the Grizzly could be heard from deep within. With a thunderous roar the big APC tore out of the garage, the external speakers screaming with the rhythmic chords, wailing guitar and pounding drums of an old rock anthem. All five members of her squad held on for dear life as Shepard floored the throttle and threw the big beast around the first corner; drifting into the turn. The roads were extremely slick, and the path wove up the side of the mountain, with no guard rails or safety features of any kind, but the commander, who’s usual finesse and expert control of the Mako could best be described as ‘reckless’, surprised them all. She drove the Grizzly like she’d been born behind the wheel. The southern drawl of an old Earth rock legend belted out of the speakers inside and out and Shepard bobbed her head along to the rhythm as she handled the driving expertly.

 _‘Call me the Breeze_  
_I keep blowin’ down the road_  
 _Well now they call me the Breeze_  
 _I keep blowin’ down the road_  
 _I ain’t got me nobody_  
 _I don’t carry me no load’_  
  
Ash leant across from the co-pilot’s chair and called out to Shepard. “Is the music really a good idea? They’re going to hear us coming miles away in this gale!” Erisa shook her head, neither her eyes nor her attention leaving the road ahead of them. “As soon as those Geth in the garage saw us, they knew we were coming. Besides, in this wind, the music will bounce of at least half a dozen rock faces and snow drifts... triangulation will be a bitch; even for synthetics as advanced as the toasters.” She gave a fleeting, evil grin. “Let ‘em know we’re coming.” Ash shook her head and could only grin fondly. So Shepard wasn’t being her usually cold, tactical self... she was happy, that was enough for Ash; besides, the commander was right. The geth had to know they were coming and with the winds in the Aleutsk Valley, no one would have a clue where the music was coming from. 

 _'Ain’t no change in the weather_  
 _Ain’t no changes in me_  
 _Well there ain’t no change in the weather_  
 _Ain’t no changes in me_  
 _And I ain’t hidin’ from nobody_  
 _Nobodies hidin’ from me’_  
  
And that was exactly the case, as what should have been the safest portions of the trip, where they had to cross bridges or go through tunnels, turned out to be well fortified choke points manned by all types of geth platforms and automated defences, from Armatures to Rocket Troopers to Turrets. Without the manoeuvrability of the Mako, they instead relied on the heavier armour and raw power of the Grizzly; bulling their way through the defences. The M29’s heavier twin barrelled 80mm guns ripped through any barriers the geth could erect and pulverized the immobile rocket turrets on the cliff walls; all set bizarrely to a southern rock soundtrack of dancing piano keys and toe-tapping solos and riffs. Inside the Grizzly, Wrex was the first to start tapping his foot in time to the beat and the rhythm started to spread; Garrus was next, tapping along to the drumbeat and grins began to spread over faces, soon becoming laughs at the surrealism of it all. Using only slightly modified tactics than those they’d used on Feros to cross the Skyway, and even with the blizzard, Shepard and ‘Big Grizz’, as she’d started calling the M29, delivered them unharmed to the front gates of Peak 15. They piled out of the Grizzly and stood before the doors of the gigantic facility, unable to drive inside the garage; the door blocked by a flipped and burning troop carrier. Shepard gave Liara one last questioning look, catching her eyes. This was it; there was no turning back from here. "Dr T'Soni. You ready?"

Liara’s face was set in a mask of grim determination and she gave her short answer accompanied with a nod of her head. "Yes, Commander. I’m ready." Shepard nodded in return and they opened the doorway and stepped into the Peak 15 Research Centre.

The team entered through a small anteroom that obviously acted as a buffer between the severe exterior conditions and the inside of the facility. Tali was already monitoring the area with her omnitool, the mark nine Savant a definite upgrade on her earlier Cipher Tool. It wasn’t long before she spoke up quietly. "We have hostiles inside, Shepard. I'm picking up at least three signatures... organic and synthetic." With a signal from the commander, the team split into its composite squads, Alpha along the left wall, Bravo the right. “Alright, remember: Alpha targets the organics first; leave the synthetics to Bravo. On my call we breach, I’ll sweep left, Williams goes right. We split their fire and isolate then neutralise them.” Raising her Indra to her shoulder, she triggered her cloak and counted them in.

As soon as they breached the main garage, they went into action like a well-oiled, finely tuned machine. On the left flank, Liara quickly darted for cover, launching a warp as she ran; followed by Garrus who backed up her warp to a Krogan warlord with a precise burst of AP rounds from his Valkyrie. The big warrior staggered back under the impact of the warp and its accompanying gunfire; relatively unhurt but now missing his kinetic barrier. That was a situation the cloaked Shepard took full advantage of and a loud _crack_ filled the air of the garage as she dropped the krogan with a clean shot to the head; her tungsten round making short work of the armoured faceplate and thick, plated skull. Over to the right, Tali launched the overload she’d started building as soon as she had detected enemies, sending the electrical bolt slamming into a Juggernaut. Its shields dropped immediately, and under the combined weapons fire of Ash and Wrex, it was the first toaster down.

Directly behind the Juggernaut were a second Krogan and a Geth repair drone. Shepard dropped to a knee and steadied her aim, waiting for a clean shot on the Krogan. She didn’t have to wait long as Liara tossed a powerful Lift at the bulky warlord, the impact staggering it even if it didn’t affect him, and she followed it up with a steady, near pinpoint grouping of disruptor rounds from her Paladin. True to their established routine, Vakarian hammered a much heavier burst of AP rounds into the krogan’s chest and Shepard, seeing her opening, put it down just as she had the first. Across the other side of the room Ashley shouted out, "Tali, nail that repair drone! I don’t want to have to kill these damn things twice." Tali focused her attack to keep the repair drone from working, while Wrex threw a warp at it; the mass effect field tearing the occupied drone to pieces.

Ash, conserving her energy and resting her wounded chest, maintained an over watch on the combat zone and called the ball when reinforcements arrived. "Shepard! More incoming on the right flank! Shock, Destroyer and Krogan inbound!" With the left half of the garage cleared, Alpha squad moved up in a blitz, running from cover to cover to outflank the new threats coming in and Shepard  found herself diving behind a small crate to gain at least limited cover when the Destroyer opened fire, but nothing even got close because Liara had slid in right behind her and thrown up a barrier. They’d at least managed to split the fire coming from the reinforcements. Tali quickly initialized a hack on the Shock Troop while Liara and Shepard fought from each side of the small crate they were behind. Liara threw out a biotic lift and suspended the last Krogan, who Shepard then eliminated with heavy AP rounds from her rifle, cycling the weapon as fast as heat dissipation would allow. With the hacked Shock Trooper's help, the Destroyer went down pretty fast beneath gunfire from Ashley, Wrex and a currently unoccupied Garrus. The team of six then finished off the Shock Trooper with overwhelming force before they stopped to take a breather and plan their next move.

A VI automated warning system was repeating on an audio loop in the background, revealing to the Normandy team that not only had the facility suffering a great deal of damage; but that biohazard materials were present throughout the facility and that the VI user interface was off-line. Tali scanned the inactive VI display and made an odd grumbling noise under her helmet. “Shepard, we need to get the reactor back online if we want access to any of these systems. The VI especially,” she suggested; the confidence in her voice a remarkable change from the nervous teen they’d first met on the Citadel. “If we get it back online, it can run a diagnostic, tell us what needs fixing.” Shepard nodded, it was a sound plan. "Okay folks, you all heard the lady. Priority one, the VI core. Let’s move.” The group pressed on and passed through a small hallway that had turrets facing in, not out, and Shepard swore under her breath. " _Makende_. We've got hostiles in here folks, these turrets are facing in, not out.”

Garrus nodded as he scanned the turrets, picking up that the IFF system had been deactivated. “It seems to be an automated defence system, core programming suggests they activate when the VI triggers a lockdown.” He looked around at the team with a questioning gaze. “Anyone else wondering just what the hell Binary Helix is working on in here that requires a ‘clean slate’ protocol?”

Wrex just gave a shrug and shouldered past the group, blasting the targeting systems of first one, then the other with his shotgun. "Does it really matter? Nothing gets past us anyhow, so no need to leave these here. They’ll only try to keep us from leaving once we’re done." The group fell into an uneasy silence as they moved on, not sure what to expect once they got inside. They came to the end of the hallway and found an elevator; with no other options, they climbed aboard and pressed the button, prepared for whatever the doors revealed at the other end.

When the doors opened, the temperature dropped significantly; this part of the facility had suffered severe damage, the windows were shattered, and snow had blown in and drifted up against the walls. Another door was ahead, and sensors indicated at least five hostiles on the other side. Shepard paused briefly before opening the door, glancing quickly across the squad and got ready indications from them all before her and Ashley, as squad leads, launched into the room. Directly ahead was a Geth Trooper with only light shields, and without even thinking, Shepard pulled her Indra into her shoulder and smoothly executed the basic platform with a snap shot to its head, destroying the CPU and taking it out of the picture. An overload and a warp from Tali and Liara took care of another Geth on the left flank before Shepard even knew what type of platform it was. The room was some type of mess hall, tables and chairs overturned and scattered, with two tall concrete dividers separating the room into sections. The dividers would provide great cover... for the Geth as well as them, so Erisa moved slowly, raising a fist to halt both squads before she gestured down with the flat of her palm, sending them into cover. Pressing her back to one of the dividers, she cloaked and peeked around the corner of the first divider and came face to face with a Shock Trooper. She froze; knowing if she jerked back suddenly the dispersion matrix that ran the calculations for the tactical cloak would try to compensate for the sudden change and would likely generate a visible ‘wobble’ in the air around her. Instead, she leaned back slowly and once she was out of view, let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. Quickly she ran through her options, but since she’d loaded out for organics she didn’t have much in the way of anti-synth equipment on her. Looking back to where Ashley was, crouched behind an overturned table, she hoped her love was good at charades and mimed as best she could her need for a disruptor grenade. It took a few tries, with Erisa comically mimicking a flashlight for a head to mean ‘geth’, but eventually Ashley tossed her a grenade. Catching it smoothly, Shepard eased back to the corner, twisted the base of the cylindrical ordinance to arm it, then silently counted two seconds and dropped the grenade around the corner. A second later there was a great whoomph of air and a crackling blast of energy before they all heard the metallic groan and clank of a fried geth collapsing to the ground.

Looking back to the squad she gave the all clear and got them moving again, sparing Ashley a smile as she moved past her, out past the first divider into the central section of the mess hall where they could use the overturned tables as more cover. She hated to think what could have happened if she’d been a little less cautious; if they’d been on a short clock instead of having the time to do things right. If she’s stepped around that corner and straight into the Shock Trooper, like she’d done back on Virmire, she could have found herself in a world of hurt. She couldn’t _let that happen. Not when she had someone counting on her, Erisa, not the commander, being there tomorrow_ _._ Her lips quirked up for just an instant at the thought before she refocused and pressed forward.

Approaching the next corner and peeking around it cloaked, she saw three more Troopers ahead. Shepard quickly signalled her squad to ready weapons and she sent Bravo squad to the opposite end of the divider. After a quick three count they flanked the unsuspecting geth and eliminated them, the blitz from both ends of the divider splitting the synthetic’s focus before they were overwhelmed by overloads and a barrage of gunfire that tore them to pieces.

With all the Geth down, the team regrouped in the centre of the room in preparation to go upstairs. As they came together, a loud creaking noise and an inhuman screech captured their attention; the sound echoing and making it impossible to tell where it came from. Instinctively, Ashley looked over to Erisa and she could see the commander had paled noticeably at just the sound; her dark pupils dilated and her muscles tensed. Ash knew then that no matter what they faced and survived in their battles, that kind of inhuman screech, so much like the cry of a Thresher, would always, _always_ take Shepard back to Akuze, even if only for a moment. The group all stood together, back to back, checking in all directions and when Shepard glanced to the upper deck, she thought she saw something that sent a lance of terror through her soul. Behind a full glass wall, there was a very large creature resembling a brown ant, four feet on the ground, a pair of forward claws, and an upper pair of extendible arms with some sort of pods on the ends. It took a second for her terrified mind to process that it wasn’t a Thresher hatchling, but it was close enough that she was still badly frightened by it. Forcing herself to focus on it, she took another look. The pods had three petals, and Shepard couldn't tell what they were. Blades? Grapples? As she watched, the creature reared up and squealed again; the noise driving an icy spike of pure fear through her heart again. There was no time to wonder what the hell it was, as Tali yelled out, "I hate spiders!" Shepard's head snapped around just in time to see a green spider-looking thing scuttle across the floor near them, only to be suddenly crushed by a huge krogan boot.  There were three or four of them, easily destroyed, apparently more creepy than dangerous, but no one wanted to get bit by one to find out.

Once the immediate threat was eliminated, Shepard called out the creature on the upper deck. There was a chorus of surprised exclamations, but while most of them all had variations on a theme that consisted mostly of ‘what the hell is that?’; it was Wrex who stood stock still and looked at the creature, unafraid. It was what he said though that really caught Shepard’s attention. “No,” the big krogan breathed in a whisper, “it can’t be... your kind are dead. We killed you all!” Before she could address that particular remark though, they still had to deal with whatever the hell it was. Another screech tore at the air and everyone quickly realized there was more than one, and as the first one cleared the glass hallway into the open, Liara slapped it with a singularity. At the same time, Shepard learned exactly what those pod like appendages were... organic projectile launchers. As the creature rounded the corner, one of the pods opened and spat some kind of green slime, scoring a direct hit on the commander as she was busy changing out her Indra for her twin Hurricanes. Her suit’s toxin alarms immediately started beeping and she tried to warn her teammates of the threat, unsure if any of them heard it above the roar of gunfire. The singularity also captured the second creature as it moved toward the end of the hall, enabling the team to finish off both creatures while they were incapacitated. Shepard shook her head, feeling nauseous, and she knelt down, immediately feeling Ash's hand on her shoulder. "Commander, you ok?"

 Shepard reached up and gently squeezed the hand at her shoulder, answering quickly, "Yeah, yeah. It’s nothing _mndani_. Just feeling a little sick. Watch that green shit. It went right through my shields like they were nothing and knocked down my toxin filters by a good twenty percent. Concentrated fire by a couple of them could put us down quick. The scrubbers are working hard to clear it, but my system hasn't recovered yet. Ideas? Anybody?" 

 She gave Wrex a pointed look and the big krogan grunted as the team kept moving, "I don’t know how it’s possible,” he said in his rumbling profundo basso, “I thought my ancestors wiped them all out. But these things... they’re Rachni." Just then a floor grate exploded upward, and another of the creatures came roaring out of the ducting, it would have hammered Shepard with a double dose of the toxic green slime, but Ashley pushed the commander aside and took the double barrelled blast herself; the combined impact and overwhelming nausea staggering her on her feet. The team blasted the creature into a literal stain and everyone glanced warily at Ashley as Shepard rounded on her angrily and the two women stared hard at each other; neither giving ground. Luckily, Erisa got a handle on her temper before she said anything stupid, but she was still furious at Ash for leaping in front of her like she had and she ground her teeth, fuming. _Oh we are_ so _going to be having words about this later, Ash._ Keeping her cool though, she took a deep breath and blew it out and Ashley just nodded; she knew what Erisa was thinking.  

So instead of starting a domestic, Shepard turned and looked at the faces in her squad. "Okay. Let's take a few minutes until my, _our_ , scrubbers are fully recovered. I’m not so fond of navy food that I want to see my breakfast in reverse. Tali, hack into that terminal while we wait, let me know what you find."

Tali’s lilting voice came out of her helmet’s synthesizer with a scoff. “Please, Vakarian could crack that terminal. Find me a challenge, Shepard.” Garrus hid a smirk and they watched as she moved to the inactive console; she was a skilled technician, and this kind of work put her right in her element. Tali had definitely emerged from her little shy shell and had hacked into the terminal in no time, "It's a personal log, Administrator Tartakovsky, apparently BH lost three shipments in the Macedon system this month alone, the rest is just a personal gripe, wishing some transporter named Gregor still carried their stuff. Says no mercenaries would dare stop him. That's all there is." Shepard nodded, her tox filters now showing green. Ash gave a similar report so she indicated all clear to the team; it was time to move again. They encountered one more of the creatures, easily dispatched, before they finally cleared the mess hall and moved to the next section of the station. An elevator sent them up one more floor into what appeared to be the VI central hub, with hallways going to a tram station on the left, a communications hub straight ahead and the main reactor to the right. There were a few of the little green spider things running around, easily removed with the judicious use of shotguns and heavy pistols, and Shepard looked at Tali with a smirk. “Okay tech genius, you’re up. You want a challenge, here’s one... fix the damn VI hub."

Shepard could see Tali's eyes light up behind her facemask, and could hear the smile in her voice as she said, "yes, Ma'am" as she disappeared into the VI core. It didn’t take long for the little machinist to work her magic, but they had long enough to do an ammo check, grab a quick drink or, in Shepard’s case; have a word with someone. Keeping a calm, quiet voice, she approached Ashley and laid a gentle hand on her partner’s shoulder. “You feel like telling me why the hell you jumped in front of a double jolt of toxic slime when you were already wounded?” Ashley’s jaw tensed a little; she’d been expecting this, just not this soon. “Ah... well, your tox filters had already taken a hit. Mine were fresh and your Assassin suit doesn’t have quite the same degree of environmental protection my Predator does. It was just the logical thing that I take the hit, ma’am.” It was a bullshit answer and they both knew it, the real reason Ash had pushed Erisa out of the way was obvious, but instead of getting mad, Shepard just heaved a sigh and forced a smile. “Guess those regs aren’t as stupid as they sound, huh.” Ash shook her head in agreement before resting it against Shepard’s, their helmets touching. “Okay, this is obviously something we’re _both_ going to have to work on. Just... promise me you won’t do anything stupid, okay? You’re the wounded one here at the moment. I _can_ take care of myself, you know.”  Ash couldn’t help a smirk and Erisa smacked the side of her helmet lightly. “So help me, if you mention Therum right now, I _will_ kick your ass.” That broke the tension and they both grinned. Tali returned from the core as they broke apart and the VI, Mira, finished rebooting.

“Online. How may I assist you?”

Shepard hoped she’d be able to get a clear picture of recent events now the VI was working again. “Tell me what happened here, Mira.” She transmitted her Spectre clearance to the VI for verification as well, giving her access to most systems and files. That wasn’t quite enough for the VI though. “I'm sorry, but I need a more specific query.”

Shaking her head, she figured Tali was right, they’d need to get the station repaired before Mira could help them fully. “Okay, how about instructions on how to repair the station? Can you manage that?”

Mira nodded and began to list her alerts. “Critical failure: Main reactor shut down in accordance with emergency containment procedures. Manual restart required. Critical failure: Landline connections are disabled. Passenger tram systems are offline. Report complete. Do you have an additional systems status query?”

The commander grunted in annoyance, “Okay, let’s start with your landlines. What are they and why are they disabled?”

“The landlines connect my mainframes here at Central Station to the various sub-facilities of Peak 15,” Mira said helpfully. “This allows the crew to remotely access my databases from the comfort and security of their labs. When emergency protocols were implemented within the hot labs, the cabling was automatically ejected.”

“Soooo.... how do I reconnect the landlines?” she asked, hoping for some instructions.

“The landlines are designed for easy reconnection. The router for the landlines is on the roof of Operations. Simply activate the controls and the hardware will reconnect and reboot automatically.” _Seems easy enough._

Shepard continued probing the VI for data. “Okay, how about the power? Do you know why the reactor was shut down?”

Mira wasn’t quite as helpful on that count. “I'm sorry, but I was offline at the time. Shutdown could occur if reactor breach seems likely, or in the case of catastrophic laboratory containment failure. Emergency guidelines suggest that the frigid environment will kill biological contagions. It may also damage mechanical ones.”

Liara had to scoff at that. “That was their answer? Turn off the heat and hope the cold puts whatever they've unleashed to sleep? I’ve seen krogan with better scientific method.”

Erisa smirked at Liara’s biting comment; it seemed there was a sense of humour in there, after all. “Just... just tell me what I need to do to get the power back on.”

“The valves to the helium-3 fuel line must be opened. This can be done at the controls on the reactor assembly proper.” The VI advised her.

Shepard nodded once. “Okay, that's all I need to hear. Squad! Get ready to move.”

The short discussion with the Peak 15 VI gave them options, at last. Thankfully the station wasn’t as badly damaged as they’d feared; they only needed to get power on and communications up to return the station to fully operational status.

If what the VI, Mira, had told them was true then she would be able to provide them with a more accurate status update after the landlines were repaired, so that became priority one. The landline cables had been interrupted by a breaker circuit when the emergency protocols had been triggered. The repair sounded simple enough; they just needed to take the elevator to the roof and manually reset the breaker, after checking for any damage to the lines. The team easily accessed the roof via the elevator, and as the external blast door opened, Shepard could easily see the panel that controlled the landline connections. Unfortunately, the minute they cleared the doorway, their sensors lit up with multiple tangos, at least five of the big Rachni soldiers and multiple hatchlings, more than they could accurately count with all the motion that abruptly exploded around them. The initial onslaught was challenging; with all the sensitive equipment up on the roof grenades weren’t an option and they had to be careful unless any stray fire damaged the landlines irreparably. With so many of the bigger Rachni warriors, the entire six man squad got slammed with multiple blasts of the toxic slime. Thankfully, most of the upgraded hard suits they’d acquired from the Spectre offices had enhanced toxin seals and filters, so contamination was minimal but it wasn’t until Liara managed to launch a singularity that they found a viable method of keeping the slime from affecting them; the slower moving slime blasts easily pulled into the gravitational field of the mass effect construct. That freed them all up to return fire, the bulk of the squad picking off the Rachni from range with precision fire whilst Tali launched an attack drone that found the smaller hatchlings easy pickings, adding to her drone’s effectiveness by blasting away with her shotgun. Liara concentrated on maintaining her singularity, while picking off outliers with her Paladin. As the remaining Rachni were being eliminated, the last warrior managed to slip a toxic bolt past the singularity, but Shepard drained an entire barrier pack with a shield boost to keep the slime from hitting her and she splattered the big bug with a full burst from one of her Hurricanes. After a quick reconnaissance of the roof to pick up any useful items, and to let everyone’s filter systems fully recover, Tali reset the breaker and the entire squad returned in the elevator to the central hub.

The team then headed off to the reactor; where according to the VI, all they needed to do was reopen the helium-3 fuel lines. Shepard harboured no doubts the mission was not going to be as simple as all that. They ran across a lone Rachni soldier on the way, but accessed the reactor elevator with minimal difficulty. As they entered the anteroom to the reactor, they got a quick blip on their sensors before jamming blocked the signal. It wasn’t difficult to guess at the source of the interference and Shepard held up a fist to call a halt. “Geth?” Tali confirmed her suspicions with a nod and started programming her omnitool for an overload, swinging into cover at the right-hand side of the door. Liara's hands started to glow with power at the ready and Wrex swung to the left and went to one knee, partially behind cover at the side of the door, prepping his Valkyrie. Ash reached for her Valiant, but Shepard waved her off. “Rearguard, Chief.” The brunette’s eyes flashed with momentary anger at being sidelined, but Shepard’s face was resolute and Ashley gave ground; silently chastising herself as she moved to guard their six. _Whatever I might be to Shepard in private, out here in the field she’s still my commander. I gotta remember that; she can’t treat me any differently out here._ Ash resolved to keep that firmly in mind from now on; she didn’t want to make things any more difficult for Erisa than they had to be. The commander gave Garrus a nod and the two of them shimmered then disappeared from view, as well as scanners. “Vakarian and I will scout ahead. Stay out of sight until I confirm and designate targets,” she told her squad over the comms. Opening the door, the two cloaked scouts moved out into the fuelling station and began their recon. A Destroyer stood on a ramp up to the left, and a Geth Stalker lay in wait above the first section of walkway; clinging to the bottom of a catwalk. Moving on silent feet, the two infiltrators split at the ramp upward; Garrus skirting past the Stalker as Shepard inched around behind the Destroyer.

The ramp doubled back on itself, and as Shepard rounded the corner and started up the second half, she spotted a second Stalker, high up on the wall. Circling around the upper catwalk she approached the far wall and spotted the last geth position, a Sniper in a nest high up above where the catwalk terminated. Opening her comm channel, she coordinated with Garrus, who reported one more Shock Trooper on the lower catwalk, before she contacted the rest of the squad and relayed targets and positions. “Okay people, on my mark. Garrus, you take the Shock Trooper out quietly then provide support for the main squad. Liara, the first Stalker is yours, I want Tali and Wrex to double team that Destroyer. I’ll eliminate the second Stalker and keep that Sniper pinned down. Once you’re clear move forward and get those fuel lines open.” She paused for confirmation, spending those seconds retreating from the sniper’s sightlines and setting up her shot on the dormant Stalker. “And... mark.”

On the lower walkway, Garrus stowed his rifle and slipped free his talon, Stepping silently into place behind the Shock Trooper, he struck. With a precise thrust, he drove the military issue monomolecular combat knife into the lower back of the geth platform; piercing through its power relays before he pressed his left hand to the side of its flashlight head and released the gathered Overload through his omnitool. The geth sparked and twitched before it finally started to smoke and he lowered it quietly onto the steel walkway before drawing his Indra to support the rest of the squad. At the same time, the door opened and Liara lent out of cover, her hand surrounded by a blue nimbus of power as she reached out with dark energy and grabbed the Stalker lying in wait on the ceiling; slamming it into the ground with all her power and stunning it before she finished it off with a tight cluster of Paladin shots that ripped through what was left of its light shields and blew apart the processor in its head. The Destroyer moved to react to Liara’s appearance, but it was quickly staggered by Tali’s overload and Wrex followed up, hitting it with a powerful Push that knocked it back over the rails, sending it tumbling down into the heart of the mountain. Shepard finished the second Stalker before it knew what was happening, a heavy tungsten round blasting apart its CPU at high velocity before it could even raise its shields. All that was left now was the Sniper. Checking her cloak, she lifted her Indra into place and sighted down the scope, stepping around the corner to bring the last geth unit into sight... and then she froze. It was gone. “Get to cover, now!” she whispered hurriedly into her helmet mic, “I was too slow, we’ve got a cloaked sniper hunting!” Carefully she scanned the nest through her scope, straining to catch any telltale wobble that would indicate its position, but she found nothing. The hairs at the base of her neck stood up and her instincts came into fine focus as at the last second she spotted a flicker off to her left; but it was too late. A sharp crack resounded through the fuelling station and she felt a hammer blow to her left shoulder that spun her like a top, sending her crashing to the floor. Her left arm hung limp and she could feel  a sudden, white hot bolt of agony lance down her arm; her weapon skittering across the steel grating of the walkway. She’d taken a bad hit, she knew that much instantly, her armour’s warning systems were blaring and readouts flooded her helmet’s HUD. While cloaked she had no shielding, nothing to stop the high velocity round that had slammed into her hard suit and penetrated through to her shoulder. She could _feel_ the geth lining up its kill shot, so she did the only thing she could think of; she rolled beneath the handrail and fell off the upper catwalk. Flailing as she fell, she caught a hold of the lower walkway as she dropped past it, the fingers of her right hand catching in the grating. She felt her shoulder jerk and almost dislocate as her fall was suddenly arrested and she hung there, holding onto the grate for dear life; praying for rescue.

Garrus was the first to react; targeting the geth sniper the minute it’s cloak collapsed, and he cycled his rifle faster than he ever had before, pouring round after round of fire into the platform until at last it dropped. At the same time, Liara spotted the near unconscious form of Shepard hanging limply from the bottom of the walkway; dangling over the fatal drop into the bottom of the fuelling station, and sprinted forward, knowing if they didn’t reach her soon, Shepard would fall to her death. She almost made it too, but the asari was still three steps from the commander when her grip finally slipped and she fell. Calling on her biotics, Liara hurled out long tendrils of blue power that yanked Shepard out of the air and with a tremendous pull, hauled her up onto the walkway again, dropping her down onto the grating with a thump. The heavy landing brought her back to consciousness, but Shepard's entire left side felt like it was on fire, she couldn't breathe, couldn't focus. Every alarm her suit had was blaring; but all she could feel was the cool steel grating against her cheek and the fire that seemed to consume her chest with every shallow, jerky breath.

She didn’t even have the strength to move, but before long Shepard felt hands rolling her onto her back and the constant beeping of her suit’s alarms dimmed as her helmet was pulled off. Looking up, she saw a very blue, very concerned face then felt hands releasing the fastenings on her armour. Suddenly it felt as if a great weight had been lifted off her chest and the alarms in her suit cut out. Another face joined the blue one, all long and thin with weird spiky bits, before she felt her padding being removed and her pressure suit being zipped down to her waist; followed by the tingling relief of medigel being spread across the entire front of her torso. Garrus blew out a sigh of relief and gave Liara and Wrex a smile, pressing his hand to the comm. unit in his ear. “It’s okay Ash, she’s fine. Or at least as fine as you can be after taking a shot to the chest and falling off a walkway...” The commander was going to be bruised to hell and back by the time it was all done, but she was alive. Shepard started hearing voices, Liara at first, then joined by Ash, trying to coax her back to responsiveness. She finally tried a deep breath, and the sudden pain that ripped through her left side made her eyes well up with tears and she choked on a pained cough. _Too soon, oh hell was that too soon..._  She let out a soft groan and closed her eyes, the flashing lights of the newly reactivated fuelling station too much for her to take in just yet. She focused on the tingling in her left arm, forcing feeling back into the numb limb; visualising taking the pain from her right shoulder and channelling it across her chest into the left. As sensations other than pain started to return to her body, she realized that a hand gripped hers, and she squeezed in return, to confirm to her teammate she was conscious. She knew it was Ash when she heard a quaver in the tightly controlled voice that attempted a joke, "I can’t leave you alone for a minute, can I? Now come on, I need to see those eyes, sweetie. You took one hell of a hit; we don’t know how bad you’re hurt yet." The term of endearment wasn’t intentional; Ashley was just far too concerned with making sure Erisa was okay to pay much attention to policing her words.

Everyone knew Shepard was alright when a snarky voice responded in a soft drawl, " _Shenzi tomba_... just, just gimme a minute _mndani_... I can barely feel my damn arms."

Shepard did, however, open her eyes, and after a few moments asked for help to sit up. Ash put a hand on her shoulder and told her to wait just a minute, checked her pupillary response and asked if she could focus ok. After positive responses, they did help her sit up, leaving her armour backplate lying on the floor. Realizing her rifle was missing, she looked about for it, bewildered, until Garrus handed it back to her. “You, ah, dropped it upstairs.” She gave him a slightly confused look for a moment, before remembering what had happened, her eyes widening. “Did... you catch me?” she asked Liara in a stunned voice. The asari blushed a little, but nodded. “I’m sorry if the landing caused more injuries, but I wasn’t going to get to you in time before you fell.” Shepard shook her head in disbelief but gave Liara a grateful smile. “I’ll take a rough landing up here over falling to my death any day. Thank you, doctor.”  Still shaking her head, she gingerly touching her right shoulder, feeling it ache where it had almost separated after taking her weight. Hearing a hiss from the commander, Ash checked out her right side as well, running a medical scanner over her. “Well,” she quipped half heartedly, “at least your bruises won’t show. Does make finding them to treat them a bitch though.” She grabbed the tube of medigel and started spreading it over the affected joint, having to resist the urge to smack Erisa for scaring her. "Chakwas is going to kick your ass when we get back."

While the two women tended to the commander, Garrus picked up the distorted chestplate and the almost ruined left shoulder pad. "I'll work with Tali on a field repair...” He examined the impact site and whistled low. “Looks like a Hammerhead hit it.” He paused and traced out the impact, “you can tell by the stress patterns. Those nasty little bastards are designed to spread out the kinetic energy on impact, hopefully bypassing good armour by letting a concussive wave do the damage internally. You... might want to take it easy, Commander. There could be internal damage we can’t scan. Doctor Chakwas will have to take a look when we get back.” He shook his head in amazement. “No wonder your arm went numb, the shock must have overwhelmed your local nervous system for a while.”

Shepard closed her eyes again and rolled her head and shoulders around, stretching her neck and back, letting out the occasional grunt as the medigel did its job and the pain faded into the background. “All in all, I’d call that a good thing, Garrus. A shredder or an AP round would have taken my arm clean off.” Ashley had released her hand, and Erisa could feel the brunette's light support against her back, just barely making contact, ready to catch her if she started to fall. Shepard drew up her knees and rolled slowly away from Ash, sitting upright, perched on her knees and tips of her toes, her hands resting on her own thighs. She could sense Ash’s hands carefully following her, ready to catch her should she go off balance. Shepard smiled gently, and opened her eyes again, to find Ashley staring at her intently, concern etched in her face. Shepard spoke softly, " I'll be fine, Ash.” The brunette gave her a hard look and shook her head, before standing and helping Shepard to her feet. “I’m not some weak kneed, doe-eyed cheerleader, ‘Risa,” she said, a bite to her words, “Don’t give me the ‘I’m fine’ routine, okay? That shit isn’t going to fly and you know it. I don’t care how bad it is, all I want is for you to tell it to me straight. We’re in this together, remember?” Shepard let out a long slow breath and nodded before she reached out and caressed a cheek. "Okay, you’re right. I’m sorry Ash; I’m not used to there being someone else to think about. Too many years alone, I guess.” She straightened her face and grimaced as a breath went too deep. “Well, just about _everything_ hurts like a sonovabitch, I think I almost dislocated my right shoulder, and Garrus is probably right about the internal injuries because I can taste blood. That better?” ‘Risa’s eyes widened in surprise, and then pain, as Ashley punched her in the arm. “No, it’s not better, dumbass! You scared the crap outta me! But... thank you for telling me the truth.”

Erisa shook her head, slightly confused, and rubbed her arm. “You know it goes both ways, right? I was just as scared when I saw you get shot at Synthetic Insights.” Ashley nodded, her anger, and the fear that had caused it, dissipating somewhat until she could give Erisa a fond smile. “No one ever said this was going to be easy for us, sweetie.” That got a snort from the commander and she shook her head in amusement. “Heh... I’d forgotten that about dating another woman..."

It was Ash’s turn to furrow her brow. “Forgotten what?”

“I lose the monopoly on always being right.” She smirked wryly and Ash rolled her eyes.

“Dork. Come on, we should get moving.”

Shepard walked over to Garrus to check on the armour repair. He wasn't happy as he handed it back. "Commander, I did the best I can for a field repair. It shouldn’t compress your chest anymore, but I wouldn’t trust it to take any more big shots like that.” Pausing, he gave Shepard a hard look. “You were damn lucky that sniper was using Hammerhead rounds. Anything else and you’d likely be a corpse right now. Anyway, there’s a weak point to the left of centre where the stress fractures are greatest. Don't take any front-on shots. I'm not sure it will hold."

Shepard nodded sagely. "Not a hell of a lot we can do about it now, Garrus, so unless we come across an all new hard suit in my size, it’ll have to do. As long as the photoprojectors aren’t too damaged I can still cloak." Tali grabbed Shepard's pads, Ashley grabbed the backplate and they returned to the elevator, dressing Shepard as they returned to the central hub. Once there, Shepard spoke to Mira one last time, hoping to get one last situation update before heading to the transportation hub. The Peak 15 VI informed them that an existing decontamination protocol had been interrupted; its system currently non functional, but that repairs were possible and could be made onsite with a standard omnitool, provided enough omnigel was available.  _There you go_ _Tali, another challenge for you._

While in the elevator to the transit hub platform, they listened to the VI rattle through the current user alerts, "Loose contaminants in the decontamination chamber, access to passenger tramways inadvisable." Once there, Shepard looked through the window into the decontamination room and saw two of the larger Rachni warriors and several hatchlings trapped in the chamber. Tali and Garrus went to work on the Plasma Purge systems and soon had it operational. Shepard hit the button, and after a five second burn of intense, superheated plasma, the decon chamber read clear; the ashen remains of the Rachni sucked away into some far off processing unit by a powerful vacuum; time to keep moving forward. Wrex and Ashley took point, waiting at the decon chamber door with incendiary grenades at the ready, their weapons close to hand. Shepard wasn’t taking any chances, not with two wounded and her own armour compromised. Liara stood ready to launch another singularity in case other Rachni waited past the chamber with their toxic slime barrages, and Garrus had his Indra braced to his shoulder. When everyone confirmed the ready call, Shepard approached the door panel to the right of the doorway, Hurricane at the ready, and punched the open button. She didn’t quite trust her shoulder to take the recoil of her longarm without knocking her on her ass again, so for now the heavier SMG would have to do. The door slid open and before they had a chance to even react, a good half dozen hatchlings started to swarm up the hall towards them; with more entering at the far end. Shepard quickly dispatched the closest two with fast bursts from her weapon, the vibrations that travelled up her arm enough to make her wince as fresh waves of pain lanced into her bruised and battered shoulder. “Fire in the hole!” came the call as Wrex and Ashley lobbed their ordinance into the approaching swarm and Liara stopped them from getting closer by setting up a singularity a short distance away; the fiery explosions from the two grenades vaporising the hatchling swarm without reaching beyond the intense gravity well of the singularity. The path to the tram station was clear. It was turning into a really, _really_ long day, and it wasn't over yet. The worst was yet to come as they headed to Rift Station to find and confront Matriarch Benezia T’soni.


	24. Rift Station

Having wiped out the last of the big bugs, the remainder of the team's transit to the tram platform itself was relatively uneventful. They easily boarded the tram and moved toward Rift Station, which was surprisingly vacant upon their arrival. There were only two exits; one went to the Hot Labs, but required a special pass they obviously didn't have, and the other went to Rift Station Central.   Their options limited, the team climbed in and the elevator moved upward. When the elevator doors opened, they were greeted by a small ERCS security force standing behind makeshift barricades. They looked like they’d been awake and fighting for days.

Their commander relaxed at the sight of Shepard and her squad and signalled his men. “Stand down.” Approaching her, he extended a hand, which she shook as the two soldiers sized up on another. “Sorry, we couldn't be sure what was on the tram.”

Shepard could understand the precautions, given what they’d had to fight through ever since the Normandy had landed at Port Hanshan. “So, I take it you've encountered those things before, then?”

The weary ERCS officer nodded, a somewhat haunted look in his eye. “Encountered, fought, seen men ripped apart by. We're all working on stims just to stay on our feet here. Look, you're human, and that's enough that I won't shoot. But I'd like to know who you are.”

“I'm a Council Spectre,” she replied, “but you can call me Shepard. I was sent to find an asari Matriarch.”

“Ventralis,” he offered in return. “So, you’re looking for Benezia? Yeah. She came through here. The aliens overran the hot labs last week. Only Han Olar got out, and he ain't all there anymore. The first we knew, the bastards were clawing their way into my command post.” He gave a tired sigh. “We had a lot more staff then.”

Shepard gave the tired soldiers a grim smile and she patted the Hurricanes clipped to her waist. “I'm packing fire and steel. They want to fight with claws and teeth, it's their funeral.”

That drew a bit of smile from the ERCS troopers and Ventralis chuckled a little. “Well hell, you got my support then. The board sent an asari to clean up the mess. She went to the hot labs yesterday and we haven't heard from her since.”

Hiding a wolfish grin, Erisa nodded calmly, though she could feel the excitement building in her chest. The chase was almost over. “I've got business with her, Council business. I'm not looking to cause you any more trouble Captain, so the best advice I can give you is to stay out of my way.”

Ventralis gave her a hard look then simply nodded in response. “Whatever you say, Shepard. That kind of shit is above my pay grade and it can stay there. All I can do is hold out here and try to protect the civilians for as long as I can. There's an emergency elevator out by the trams. This card will let you activate it. It can take you down to the hot labs. Oh, and if you need any first aid, Dr Cohen's downstairs in the med bay.”

A functioning medbay sounded really good right about now and that earned Ventralis a more genuine smile of gratitude. “Thanks for the offer, Captain. I think I’ll take you up on that. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got work to do.”

“Yeah, I hear th—“ There came a sudden scratching sound in the floor beneath them, and Shepard could only assume there were ventilation ducts beneath the deck plates that the Rachni were using to move about the entire complex. Ventralis snatched his rifle off his back as he yelled at his men. “Hell! Man the perimeter!”

A grate near the elevator exploded upward and two of the large creatures erupted from the vents. Liara tossed a singularity over the vent and the combined forces of the ERCS security team and the Normandy’s field squads quickly dispatched the bugs with a storm of shot and shell as they floated helplessly.

Ventralis gave a sigh of relief as the two riddled bodies collapsed to the decking and he offered the commander a grateful smile. “Thanks for the help. Every few hours a group comes up the tram tunnel. It's actually better since we locked down the elevator.”

Shepard just shrugged. “We're all in the same boat, Captain. My squad and I have been fighting our way through them since Central Station.”

The Captain nodded and scratched his head, eyeing the dead Rachni with a curious gaze. “I don't know why they keep throwing themselves against our defences, though. Even animals should learn not to stick their noses where it hurts.”

“I wouldn't worry too much. Look, you and your men are holding a vital position and you're clearly running on fumes.” Looking back to her squad, the commander snapped out an order. “Wrex, Tali! Stay here and bolster the defences. Provide the captain with whatever support you can.”

The big Krogan nodded and smoothly took up position behind the barricade; his shotgun at the ready as he stacked thermal clips in front of him. Tali did the same, though a little reluctantly, and she looked to Shepard a moment for reassurance. “You sure, Commander? What if you need me for hacking and decryptions?”

Erisa gave the small machinist a gentle smile and nodded. “You're not the only tech we have, Tali; just the best. Both Garrus and I have the training. We'll manage. Make sure to stay in radio contact and keep an eye on that tram line. We can't afford to let Benezia slip past us. Good luck.”

With that, the smaller squad of Shepard, Ashley, Garrus and Liara proceeded into the main room of Rift Station. There was a strange combination of staff present in the room; humans, a Salarian, an Asari, and an Elcor. The Elcor actually turned out to be a merchant, and after a bit of bartering, Shepard happily unloaded a lot of the extra gear they had salvaged along the way for some pretty decent credits; with the lockdown, prices were high, especially for weapons and armour mods. Shepard didn’t find the rest of the personnel quite so open to exchange, however.  The Asari was very rude and quite uncooperative when approached, almost snapping at them waspishly. “What?”

Gritting her teeth, Shepard forced a polite smile and asked the necessary questions. “Do you know Matriarch Benezia?”

The asari turned out to be a scientist by the name of Alestia Iallis, and she looked the squad of marines up and down distastefully. “Why ask me and not your friend?”

Liara stepped in smoothly to answer that, knowing Erisa was quickly losing patience. “Because I arrived with the Commander and do not know anything about the Matriarch; whereas you have been here during the time Benezia reportedly came through this station. I would think you might know something about her, even if it is no more than where she is now.”

Iallis shook her head. “Well, you are mistaken. I have been quite preoccupied with my own work here and have little need to know the comings and goings of others.”

Shepard had reined in her temper by now, but something about the asari didn’t sit right with her, so she asked another question, trying to get a handle on the rude woman. “You're a member of the science teams then?”

“Recently transferred, yes.” She gave the commander a flat, unfriendly look, as if being questioned was somehow offensive to her.

The commander wasn’t going to let it go until she was satisfied, however. “And what do you do here? If I might ask.”

Iallis gave a sigh and all but rolled her eyes. “Molecular genetics. I specialize in biotic-enhanced allele-specific hybridization.”

Shepard decided to play dumb, letting the asari retain her mistaken sense of scientific superiority. Maybe she’d let something slip if she thought they were just grunt marines who wouldn’t know a genetic coder from an omnitool. “Think you could translate that in galactic?”

It worked, and the asari gave a smug smile, rolling her eyes. “It's a genetic thing. Forget it. Now, if you’ve no more questions, I'll return to my meditations.”

"Fine. I'll let you get back to your meditations, but I may have some more questions for you later."

The Salarian, Dr Palon, was a little bit more forthcoming; he was also unwilling to discuss details of his job, but gave Shepard a bit of information on the labs and pointed them in the direction of Han Olar. After a very brief discussion, Shepard and her squad headed to the med bay to see what info the local doctor could provide; as well as see if there was any further medical treatment he could provide for both her and Ashley. As soon as they left the main room, Garrus gave Shepard a querying look and spoke softly so no nearby staff might overhear them. “So, plant?”

Checking they were definitely alone, Shepard nodded once. “Plant.”

Liara gave the two experienced operatives a confused look. “What are you talking about?”

Unlike her and Garrus, neither Ashley nor Liara had much experience dealing with the more intrigue-heavy side of things. Garrus’ experience came more from his time as a C-Sec investigator and Shepard tended to rely on her razor sharp survival instincts and Operative training, but their experiences amounted to much the same thing; an innate ability to spot when something, or someone, was out of place. Looking at Ash and Liara, she explained for their benefit. “That asari 'geneticist'... everything about her is wrong, the way she moves, her manner, her vocabulary. Hell, she even _smells_ wrong. My guess would be military, or since she’s asari, a commando.” Ash squinted a little and rubbed the back of her neck. “How do you figure that, ma’am?”

Shepard gave a shrug. “Call it a hunch. She's entirely too calm, for one, especially when you consider how rattled the other squints are. No mention of a nondisclosure agreement either, and at a place like this you’d have to sign one just to take a piss. And a recent transfer? Ventralis told us the hot labs were overrun a week ago, emergency containment protocols would have gone into effect immediately. She might be new, but the only way that fits is if she came with Benezia... and we know she was escorted by commandos, not scientists. I think it's pretty safe to say we were expected, and the good doctor back there has orders to make sure we don't walk out of here alive.”

Their suspicions made sense when it was laid out like that and Ashley just nodded. “Okay, so she’s a plant. You got a plan, skipper?”

Shepard nodded slowly, thinking her way through it. “Well, if I were her, I’d look to take us out somewhere quiet, without witnesses. I say we give her the chance.”

Garrus gave a sly smirk. “I like it. A trap's only a trap if your quarry doesn't know it’s being hunted.”

“Exactly. Keep your eyes open people; let’s avoid anywhere secluded and private until we’re ready for her.”

The doctor in the Medical Lab was a human, who seemed rather on edge. After a brief discussion, they found out his name was Dr Zev Cohen, and he was a microbiologist, not a medical doctor. He told them the automatics, run by Mira, could handle basic treatments; thanks to the automated surgical cradle in the medbay, and that unfortunately that was all that was available. “May I?” Dr Cohen nodded and Shepard moved over to examine the cradle, checking its programs and settings. It was a top of the line model, nothing but the best for Binary Helix, she thought to herself sarcastically, but that did mean it had bone and tissue weavers and a dermal regenerator built into it. “It’ll do,” she said in a neutral tone. “Ash, you’re up first. Get that gunshot seen to. I’ll go last, once I’ve had a word with the doctor here.” Ashley nodded and glanced at Liara, "Help me out of my armour, will ya, Li?”

At the prospect of so much human female nudity, Garrus gave a slightly embarrassed cough and turned away. “I’ll, uh. I’ll watch the door.” All three women smirked a little at that, and as Liara helped pull Ashley’s upper armour off yet again, Shepard turned to Doc Cohen, and introduced herself. “Sorry for the intrusion, doctor, but me and mine need the treatment. We’ve had to fight our way through the Rachni, and worse, just to get this far. I’m Commander Shepard; Council Spectre.” Casting an eye over at the injured men occupying most of the biobeds, she cocked an eyebrow at Cohen. “Were they attacked by the aliens?”

The doctor shook his head and offered a brief explanation. “No. No, they're suffering from a toxin. There was an accident. I-- I have a non-disclosure agreement. I shouldn't be discussing it with anyone outside the company.”

He wanted to though, that much was easy to see, and Shepard pushed him on it. “But you're going to... because you know I might be able to help.”

Cohen flushed slightly, but straightened and brushed at his lab coat. “I'd like to think the company finds our lives more valuable than their secrets; though I know they most likely don't. You know Mira of course? The VI for Peak 15? Well, she handles the safety protocols for our experiments here.”

Shepard nodded briefly. “We've met. My tech girl reactivated her on our way through Central Station.”

“That was you? I'm grateful,” he said, clearly meaning it. “Until she came online, the automated equipment wouldn't work. We lost the connection to Mira in the middle of an experiment, and the quarantine failed. These three were exposed to a toxin. Something we were working on.”

“Well congratulations,” Erisa drawled sarcastically, “You made an illegal bioweapon. Think to make a cure for it?”

The project lead coughed to cover his awkwardness at the conversation. “Look, our first priority was getting it working. We were close to synthesizing an antidote when Mira went down. Our notes and equipment are locked in the quarantine labs. The toxin breaks down after a very brief period of time, so there’s positively no threat of further contamination, but Captain Ventralis isn’t willing to risk it. So far, I've been unable to retrieve them and work on finishing the cure.”

Shepard frowned. As much as this would distract her from their primary objective, she wasn’t willing to let three men die out of simple fear. “I'll talk to Ventralis for you, but I really don't have the training to help.”

Doctor Cohen nodded unhappily. “No, of course. You don't look like a biochemist. No offence. Still, it would be a simple procedure to follow the notes and create some of the antitoxin. Mira might even be able to talk you through it.”

Erisa gave a dry, though not unfriendly, smile. “None taken, doc. I'll talk to you when I know more.”

The surgical cradle had completed most of its work on Ashley, all of the bone and major tissue work at least, before Shepard terminated the program and helped Ash out of the machine. While Liara helped the LT get all her gear on again, Shepard shed her own hard suit and took Ashley’s place. They still had hard fighting coming; best to take the time now and fix what damage they could. Like with Williams, she let the cradle complete all of the bone and major tissue work before shutting it off and climbing out. Only the bruising was left untreated on the two marines; they’d be sore, but fully functional. Liara gave a small smile and went to join Garrus guarding the door, leaving Ash to help Erisa get all her gear on again. Erisa gave a wry smile at that and looked at Ashley as they buckled her armour back on. “Wonder what that was about,” she said idly. Ash just smirked in reply and got on with the job. “Remember when Li bridged our minds? I ah, may have inadvertently made it clear that I’m the only one that gets to see you in any state of undress. I think she’s just respecting that.” She chuckled and handed Shepard her weapons. “I probably ought to let her know medical situations don’t count.” Shepard grinned. “Ya think? If it’s a choice of Liara seeing you naked or you bleeding out, I think I can live with the former. Come on,” she said as she stood, testing the repairs to her body by stretching and rolling her shoulders, “I got a call to make.”

Rather than head back to talk to the Captain, Shepard just opened a comm channel to one of her squad reinforcing Ventralis’ men at the barricades. “Wrex, link the Captain into our comm network. I need a word with him.”

After a brief delay, the ERCS captain joined their comm line. “This is Ventralis, what do you need, Shepard?”

She quickly laid out what she needed. “Look, I want to help Doctor Cohen and the poisoned scientists you’ve got lying in med bay.”

Ventralis sighed heavily. “I'd love to help those poor bastards out, really, I would. But I can't risk the chance of further contamination. Protecting the few survivors has to be my top priority.”

Shepard pulled out what little persuasive charm she had and hoped it wasn’t too rusty. “I understand that Captain, but Dr Cohen says there is no risk; the toxin has a very limited half life without a host to poison. Look, let me in to the quarantine labs and I'll take care of it.”

Silence fell as the captain considered her request, but he eventually spoke, offering a compromise. “Hmm, well, you're not under my command, and I don't exactly have the manpower to stop you. Fine, I'll radio the guard to let you in, but he'll run a full bioscan before any of you come out. Any anomalies and you're stuck in there. Deal?”

She agreed readily, confident in Cohen’s assessment of the biohazard. “If that's what it takes.”

Soon Shepard and the reorganised Alpha squad were on their way to the Quarantine Lab. The route there took them through the barracks area, and they ran into the sole survivor of the accident, the Volus, Han Olar. As they walked up, Olar started talking. "You came to find out about them, didn't you?".

Shepard looked the Volus over. “You must be Han Olar, the only survivor of the Hot Labs. I need to know more about the Rachni.”

Her knowledge took Olar by surprise, and it showed, even through his stout little envirosuit. “How do you know what they are?”

She smirked. “I've got a very old krogan Battlemaster on my squad. He recognised them. Probably from old stories. Look, you're involved in this. What can you tell me?”

The weary, traumatised Volus started to talk. “They found it in a derelict ship. An egg. Waiting since the last battles. They brought it here—“

Another of the Binary Helix scientists in the room interrupted, and Shepard could read a mix of fear and desperation on his face. “ Shut up! God, you want to get us killed?” Clearly, it wasn’t just the Rachni he was afraid of.

Han though, turned to his colleague and spoke, his voice calm and collected. She knew that voice, the trauma it took to create that kind of acceptance in the face of life and death. “I have no control over who lives or dies here. Do you?”

Shepard had to interject though, they were on a clock. “I don't have time for this, Olar. Like I said, I need to know everything about the Rachni.”

Olar answered her plainly. “I’ve told you all I can. We brought the Rachni back from the dead. In retrospect, a bad decision.”

“No shit.” She changed tact, hoping to glean more from him by using another set of questions. “I heard you were at the hot labs. If that place is swarming with these bastards, how did you make it out alive?”

“I killed her.” He said, simply.

The bluntness with which it was said startled Liara. “Who?”

“Doctor Zhonmua,” he said. “We were going to lunch when the alarms went off. I ran into the tram. And I closed the doors. She banged on the window once. Then they sliced her to pieces. Her head came apart like a melon. I closed the door. I killed her.”

Shepard crouched and put a comforting hand on the Volus’ shoulder. Survivor’s guilt could affect anyone, and she suffered from it herself. The only difference was, she had _chosen_ not to forgive herself. Han Olar still had a chance, so she did her best to alleviate the guilt and remorse he was feeling. “No, Han. The Rachni killed her. If you'd held that door for even a second longer, they'd have gotten in and ridden the tram all the way back here. You didn’t just save yourself, you saved everyone here. Don't feel guilty for that.”

That brightened his voice a little, and she smiled softly when he spoke. “Of course. That is perfectly true. I hadn’t considered that.”

She gave him a last smile. “It’s okay to mourn for her, Olar. But her death isn’t yours to carry. Let it go; you don’t want to carry the weight of the dead with you.” Shepard thanked Olar for the info, and they pressed on to complete the cure. When they got to the door of the Quarantine Lab, the turian guard nodded, reminding them that he’d have to run a bioscan before letting them out. Once in, Shepard set Ashley to checking all the lockers and storage containers for anything worthwhile whilst Liara quickly found the notes and started working on the cure. Meanwhile, she and Garrus looked about the room with a critical eye. “You thinking what I’m thinking?” she asked softly.

“Well, if you’re thinking that this room is nice and isolated, without any monitoring and makes a nice ambush spot... then yeah.” She looked up at him with a grin. “So... even money says she bribes or just plain kills the guard outside, then sweeps in here with a clean-up crew and hopes to take us by surprise. What do you think, other commandos or will she use toasters?”

Her fellow operative stroked his chin. “Plan for both to be sure, I say.” The two of them cast their eyes over the back wall and floor for possibilities, and finally Shepard stomped on the steel grating. “Think this lifts up?” Garrus knelt and tugged at the deck plating as they stepped back. “Yup. Mine it?” She grinned back and slipped a few disruptor grenades out of her combat harness, setting their detonators to correspond to her omnitool. “Mine it.”

Needless to say, Shepard was not surprised when after only a few more minutes, the obviously fake ‘Dr’ Iallis suddenly showed up, two Geth Troopers and an additional Asari commando behind her, filling the first half of the room as Shepard and her team went to cover behind storage crates and workbenches. Alestia smirked, already certain of her victory as she spoke. “Your mission ends here, Shepard.”

From his position behind a crate, Garrus had his Valkyrie already trained on the second asari commando and his voice was dry as he spoke. “Told you. Ambush.”

Shepard nodded, a dry smile on her lips as she stood in the open, looking for the entire world like she’d been caught in the commando’s trap. Her relaxed, conversational voice said different though. “You know the dangerous thing about an ambush, 'Doctor'? You have to be sure the person you're ambushing doesn't know you're coming. Otherwise you're just walking into a trap. Kinda like you just did.”

A dead calm came over the Asari, and despite the confidence in her prey’s statement, she made a most unexpected direct statement. "I was ordered to eliminate you, should the opportunity arise, and here you are, trapped in this lab." She then shouted to her comrades, "Weapons free!"

That was the signal, and Shepard tapped her omnitool. Beneath the feet of their supposed ambushers, three disruptor grenades went off; arcs of electrical energy surging directly into the steel grating they stood on before following the path of least resistance and flowing directly up into the two geth and the second commando. Alestia had been standing slightly forward of her troops however and escaped the directed electrocution. Garrus, Ashley and Liara all opened fire, targeting the rigid bodies of the electrocuted geth and the commando; killing them before they even had a chance to recover. Alestia was Shepard’s however, and with a snarl, the asari threw a quick warp at the Spectre with one hand, raising her Carnifex hand cannon with the other. Erisa had been ready though, and as soon as the glowing hand had come up, she’d dropped into a crouch and rolled forward, letting the biotic attack pass overhead and slam into the wall behind her. Coming out of the roll, she stood smoothly, right in front of Alestia, and went on the attack. A smooth, fluid half-circle block with her right arm brushed aside the Carnifex before she drove the heel of her left hand at the commando’s sternum, following the blow with a heavy forward kick. The suddenness of their own ambush, combined with her attack had taken Alestia off guard, the asari’s plan falling completely apart as she found herself now in a fight for her very life. The palm strike staggered her and she took a step back, bracing herself then bringing both forearms together in a cross to block the commander’s kick. Summoning up a fresh wave of biotic energy, she threw her right hand out in a biotic slam, but Shepard was again ready for it and ducked the energy bolt before spinning to her left. An open hand lanced out, quick as a snake strike, and Erisa grabbed the Asari’s wrist then twisted it sharply and applied pressure, forcing the limb into a free standing arm bar. With all the power she could muster, she drove the heel of her left hand against the back of Alestia’s locked elbow joint and smiled viciously as she heard the wet snapping of bone. The asari cried out in pain and attempted to bring her gun to bear, but before she could, the Spectre drove the heel of her combat boot down into the side of her right knee and Alestia felt another joint snap; ligaments tearing as she collapsed to her knees. In agony now, she dropped her pistol, but the commander wasn’t done yet. Still firmly grasping the asari’s right wrist, she twisted it back on itself and applied even more pressure, causing the broken arm to twist up behind Alestia’s back, further destroying her elbow. The final blow, the coup-de-grace, was a punishing left knee from the Spectre that smashed remorselessly into the commando’s face; pulverizing her nose and dropping her into unconsciousness; purple blood staining the front of her scientist’s smock and spraying over the grating.

Shepard let go the asari’s wrist and stepped back, hardly even sweating, just panting gently from the adrenaline rush the fight had produced. Ash had watched the brief hand to hand encounter in amazement, and she grinned as she stowed her assault rifle. Walking over, Williams looked down at the asari and whistled. “Damn... you really were taking it easy on me in the gym, weren’t you?”  Shepard shrugged, a grin curling her lips. “I was tired... beating on a heavy bag for a couple hours does that to a woman.” Impulsively, Ash's hand fluidly moved across the space between them and gripped Erisa around the neck and pulled her in for a deep kiss. After a very brief moment of hesitation, Shepard fully indulged in the rather public display of affection. Finally breaking in order to take a breath, Ash stared into Erisa’s dark eyes, a naughty smile on her lips. "Is it wrong I found that beating you just doled out a _huge_ turn on?" Erisa pulled back, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Ashley. “You’re right... I _am_ a bad influence on you, Miss Williams.” Ash smirked and dipped in again, her voice breathy as she went for a second, much briefer kiss. “Just shut up and kiss me, Skipper.”

A somewhat awkward cough brought them out of it, and they saw Garrus standing at the door, ready to go, whilst Liara stood beside him; her attention firmly fixed on the phial of antitoxin she’d created. Garrus’ voice was sly, the humour a little barbed when he spoke. “Just for future reference... are we going to have to endure watching you two do that every time something ‘sexy’ happens?” He even used air quotes around the word, emphasising it bluntly. “I’d like to know so I can plan how many barf bags to bring on mission.” That definitely snapped them apart, and Ashley stepped back, blushing faintly whilst Shepard stuck a pink tongue out at the turian. “Hey, I didn’t start that one. Take it up with her,” she said, looking pointedly at the Chief. Ashley wrinkled her nose at her lover then did her best to blow past the slightly embarrassing moment. "Come on team, let’s holster those weapons and get this cure back to the Doc."

As they walked out of the Quarantine Lab, Han Olar approached them again, informing them that the Geth had initially arrived with Benezia, and then he pointed at the door they came through just five minutes prior. Shepard asked how to get into that area, and Olar told her it was a maintenance area, and any team lead would have access... like the med team lead, Dr Cohen.

Shepard raised her eyebrows and once again thanked Olar for the information, before the four man squad headed toward the med lab. Doctor Cohen was still monitoring his poisoned colleagues when they entered and he looked up, hopeful their return brought good news. “Is that the cure? You did it?”

Holding up a hand, she waved him back a step. “First things first, doc. I was ambushed in the lab you sent me to. If you set me up...”

Cohen looked honestly stricken by the idea. “You were attacked? I-- I don't know anything about that! I hate conflict. I've never even fired anyone. I have my receptionist do it. Look, the guards. They have been more on edge ever since you got here. I think they were expecting you. There are more labs in the back. The guards won't even let me back there. Just people with 'clearance'.”

Growling, Shepard fought back the urge to do someone violence; though she couldn’t restrain her tongue just yet. “Somebody in here needs a punch in the throat,” she muttered darkly.

The doctor however, was adamant. “I don't want to get involved in this! I'm just trying to save my friends. Let me see that phial. An extension on Dr Phelps’s work? I thought he was on the right track. I can't thank you enough. God. What a cliché. You saved their lives, you know that?”

Shepard gave him a bleak look. “Only as a means to an end, doctor. I have a mission to complete. And I need to get into maintenance to do it. Cure for a pass card, what do you say?”

Cohen shrugged and unclipped his passcard from his smock’s lapel. “It seems I have little choice; I need to administer this cure. Good luck, Commander and thank you.” With that, he went to work, doing his best to save his colleagues. Turning to leave the medbay, Ashley stopped her briefly. “Thank you, commander,” she said gently. Shepard’s brow furrowed a moment and Ashley continued. “The old you, the Shepard who was the Ice Queen... she wouldn’t have thought twice about leaving those infected men to die. She would have only helped once she knew she needed the passcard from Cohen. But _you_ didn’t do that. You just wanted to help first.” The praise made her blush a little, and she gave Ash _her_ smile. “I guess Karin was right... you do make me more human.”

They backtracked to the barracks and quickly entered the maintenance tunnels, only to discover it was literally a tunnel carved through ice and snow. Sensors indicated only one hostile ahead of them. They approached cautiously, weapons and biotics primed. It turned out to be a single Rachni soldier, easily dispatched with a single shot from an Indra before it was anywhere near close enough to pose a threat. They passed through another doorway, and re-entered the facility proper, making a beeline straight for the additional labs behind the maintenance area. Those turned out to include the Hot Lab, and before they realized it, they were face to face with Matriarch Benezia.

The Hot Lab was basically rectangular in shape, with raised catwalks all the way around the outside edge. From where they entered the room, the catwalk directly in front of them and the one to the right also accessed raised platforms. The Matriarch stood near the entrance to the platform directly in front of them. She was dressed all in black, looking very foreboding, and started speaking as soon as they entered the room. "You do not know the privilege of being a mother. There is power in creation. To shape a life. Turn it toward happiness or despair. Her children were to be ours, raised to hunt and slay Saren's enemies. I won't be moved by sympathy, no matter who you bring into this confrontation."

The commander watched Benezia coolly, assessing the Matriarch before she responded. “That’s not why Liara is here, Benezia. I'm not the type to play the sympathy card, ask your daughter. She's here because she asked for the chance to talk to you, to see if we can't find a peaceable solution. Since I owe her my life I'm happy to give her that much, though I think we both know how this is going to end...” While Shepard played for time, Ashley and Garrus moved out along the right-hand catwalk to a flanking position, the turian setting up his Indra to snipe with.

Benezia's voice was cold, a reflection of Shepard’s. They both knew this confrontation wasn’t going to have the happy ending Liara so wanted. Shepard had known it the moment her eyes had met the Matriarch’s. "Indeed. What have you told her about me, Liara?"

Liara was taken aback by the Matriarch's lack of emotion, questioning, "What could I say, Mother? That you're insane? Evil? Should I explain how to kill you? What could I say?" The pitch of Liara's voice climbed the more she spoke, becoming more frantic with emotion at every turn.

Liara's pleas did nothing. The Matriarch faced the group and delivered a not so veiled threat. "Have you faced an Asari commando unit before? Few humans have." Shepard glanced over and saw Liara's overwrought expression, but she knew what had to happen here. _I’m sorry Liara, maybe one day you’ll be able to forgive me for what happens next._

Looking back at the Matriarch, Shepard sneered in contempt, her voice that ice cold tundra wind it used to be, dripping in disdain. “You're a goddamn hypocrite, Benezia. You talk about the privilege of being a mother, the power to shape a life yet here you are, ready to take Liara's. I can't believe you'd kill your own daughter. I won't believe it.” The raw cruelty in the Matriarch’s smile matched the contempt in hers. “Then you are as foolish as she is. I now realise I should have been stricter with her.” Without warning, she launched a stasis field, trapping Shepard, while the first pair of commandos ran into the room. Garrus neatly dropped the first before she’d even taken two steps, a bullet hole between her eyes,   and Liara launched a warp, while Ashley focused fire with her assault rifle and forced the remaining commandos into cover. The stasis field wore off and Shepard cloaked immediately, disappearing from the second commando’s view. Taking advantage of the moment’s uncertainty, Shepard crouched in beside the railing of the walkway she was on and levelled her rifle. Centring the cross hairs on the commando she fired, the heavy rounds from her Indra ripping through the commando’s shield and dropping her. It wasn’t a clean kill, but a lung shot. The asari would die drowning in her own blood; not a nice way to go for anyone.

As Shepard’s squad decimated the first wave of reinforcements Benezia motioned again, and Shepard picked up that a commando and at least two Geth Troopers had rolled in, before jamming blocked her scanner data. Garrus had found a nice little nest and dropped the first Trooper into the room then started harassing the commando; pinning her into cover. That in turn left Ashley free to move, flanking the enemy, and she soon caught the commando; blindsiding her with a heavy stream of shredders whilst Liara caught the last geth in a Lift and Shepard drilled its power relays with a hyper accelerated round; shutting it down permanently. Benezia realized they were making fairly quick work of her forces, so she made yet one more gesture, releasing two more Geth into the mix. Liara launched a singularity, floating another Sniper that Garrus was more than happy to remove from existence; whilst Ashley finished her flanking manoeuvre. Throwing the Singularity had left Liara exposed though, and the Matriarch launched an incredibly powerful warp directly at her daughter. It would have hit her too, had it not been for the Chief. Ash had stormed down the catwalk and tackled Liara at the last moment; the devastating warp merely grazing the pair in midair and throwing them against the wall behind a pile of crates. The pair lay there a moment, aching and dazed, a terrible realization suddenly dawning on Liara.  _My mother just tried to kill me!_

Shepard was coldly furious, and it showed in the extreme precision and brutality with which she dispatched the last geth trooper before turning her attention to the now outnumbered, and drained, Matriarch. But instead of a fight, she found her kneeling at the rear of the platform; crouched like a wounded beast as she spoke once again, spitting venom with every word. “This is not over. Saren is unstoppable. My mind is filled with his light. Everything is clear.”

Shepard risked a quick glance over in the direction of Ashley and Liara, breathing a soft sigh of relief as she saw them emerge from the scattered pile of crates and containers. She didn’t need to look at Garrus to know her turian friend was already in position; his Indra steady and a killshot drawn over Benezia’s heart. Shaking her head at the sheer folly of the Matriarch’s continued defiance; Shepard tried one last time to reason with her, for Liara’s sake. “It's over, Matriarch. Your commandos are dead and your toasters are scrap metal, so start talking. What's Saren's next move?”

Benezia stood slowly, unsteady on her feet as she surveyed the remains of her dead escort. She remained bold and proud, her eyes aflame with passion even as Williams took up another sniper position on the left flank and Liara walked up to confront her beside Shepard. “I will not betray him. You will... You...” her voice stuttered and stammered, her head shaking as if some great internal conflict was taking place. When finally she looked up again, the fervour in her eyes was gone; and her voice was softer as she began to plead with them. “You must listen. Saren still whispers in my mind. I can fight his compulsions. Briefly. But the indoctrination is strong.”

For her part, Shepard hadn’t been willing to believe a word of what the Matriarch had said; not trusting that it wasn’t part of a ploy to distract them, until that was, Benezia mentioned indoctrination. At that, Shepard felt the last piece of the puzzle drop into place and she almost smacked herself for not having seen it sooner. Understanding; and no small amount of self aggrandisement filled her soft voice. “I've been an idiot... I'm so sorry Liara. We saw the results of Sovereign's indoctrination back on Virmire. I should have realised then that your mother wasn't following Saren willingly! Nothing about their alliance made any sense; not until you factor in indoctrination!”

Liara’s hand flew to her mouth as she realized what Erisa meant, and the Lady Benezia confirmed it with her next words. “Indeed, it is a terror to be trapped in your own mind. To beat upon the glass as your hands torture and murder. I was powerless; nothing but a tool for Saren. People are not themselves around him. We come to idolize him, worship him. We would do anything for him. The key is Sovereign, his flagship. It is a dreadnought of incredible size, and its power is extraordinary. He sent me here to find the location of the Mu Relay. Its position was lost thousands of years ago.”

Shepard had to interrupt her there. “We know, we’ve already discovered that Sovereign is a Reaper. More importantly, exactly how did you manage to find the coordinates here? I'm assuming the Rachni had something to do with it.”

She nodded slowly, shame and regret spreading slowly across her light blue face. “Two thousand years ago the Rachni inhabited that region of our galaxy. They discovered the relay. The Rachni can share memories across generations. Queens inherit the knowledge of their mothers. I took the location of the relay from the queen's mind. I was not gentle.”

Still trying to salvage the situation, Erisa scrambled for any flicker of hope she could cast about for. “It's not too late, Matriarch. With all we've learnt about indoctrination there's a case to me made that you're not responsible for your actions.” She was almost pleading with the Asari now, begging on Liara’s behalf so she wouldn’t be forced to betray Liara’s trust in the most brutal of ways. “You can still make it right. Giving me the information would be a good first step.”

Benezia nodded slowly. “You are right, I was not myself, but-- I should have been stronger. I transcribed the data to an OSD. Take it. Please.” She said, stepping forward and pressing the drive into her daughter’s hand. “Saren wouldn't tell me his destination. But you must find out quickly. I transmitted the coordinates to him before you arrived.” She suddenly grit her teeth, pain flickering over her fine features as she held the heel of one hand against her temple. Shepard stepped back and raised her Indra sadly, triggering the laser sights; at this range she was too close for the scope. She watched, filled with remorse for what she knew she must do, and grief for her friend’s imminent loss. “You have to stop—me, Shepard. I can't-- His teeth at my ear. Fingers on my spine. You should-- uh, you should...”

Liara lunged forward to hug her mother, imploring her not to give up, but Benezia pushed her away, a last look of sorrow mixed with pride touching her features. “You've always made me proud, Liara.” Then, she was gone. As Liara hung her head in distress, her heart breaking, Saren's tool spun to face them once again, glowing with power and shouting, "Die!"

The Matriarch’s last stand, sadly, did not last as long as one of her noble lineage probably deserved. Without armour and shielded only by her biotics, as powerful as they were, she did not stand much chance. Both Garrus and Ashley had kept the sights of their rifles; his Indra and her Valiant, trained on Benezia the entire time from afar. All they had to do was squeeze the trigger; and along with Shepard, that sent three high velocity shredder rounds tearing through her body as if it were made of little more than tissue paper. Erisa shook her head sadly as the Matriarch sagged back against the wall. The battle was not over yet though, as more commandos entered the lab. Liara launched a singularity to bottleneck the last hostiles while Shepard and Garrus began to pick off the commandos, covering Ash as she withdrew from her tenuous position to more suitable cover on the main platform. Once there, she stayed tight on the Matriarch, and made sure she stayed down. Over the next few minutes, the last four commandos fell and the group returned to the Matriarch.

As they approached, Benezia coughed raggedly, spitting aside a stream of violet spittle before she whispered croakily, "I cannot go on. You will have to stop him, Shepard." The commander growled at that and shook her head. “Damn it Benezia, just hold on. We've got medigel, maybe we can...” But the Matriarch was adamant, tears staining her cheeks as she gazed lovingly at her daughter one last time. “No. He is still in my mind. I am not entirely myself. I never will be again.” Liara rushed forward, calling to her mother. Benezia completely collapsed against the wall, and spoke her last words "Good night, Little Wing. I will see you again with the dawn." Liara cried, holding her mother one last time, as Benezia died in her arms.

Shepard looked on for a moment, her throat tight and eyes tearing slightly as she watched Liara hold her mother. She knew that pain, the sense of loss that seemed like it was bottomless in its depth, and she felt for her blue friend. Liara would need them all in the days to come; but for now she walked away to give Liara some privacy, some space in which to grieve. She observed the Rachni queen and approached it warily. As she did so, one of the dying Asari commandos, rose and started staggering toward the Rachni. It was surreal. Shepard was intrigued and horrified at the same time. Somehow, the queen was controlling the commando's body, and once the commando leaned against the glass wall of the enclosure, she started to speak. “This one. Serves as our voice. We cannot sing. Not in these low spaces. Your musics are colourless.”

Pressing a hand against the thick glass, Shepard studied the Rachni closely. “I take it you’re the Queen they found.”

The oddly hollow voice of the dying commando filled the lab, backed by an almost sibilant whispering that Shepard thought must belong to the Queen herself. “Yes. We are the mother. We sing for those left behind. The children you thought silenced. We are Rachni. These needle men, they stole our eggs from us. They sought to change our children into beasts of war, claws with no songs of their own. Our elders are comfortable with silence. Children know only fear if no one sings to them. Fear has shattered their minds. The children are beyond our songs now. They have been lost to silence. The children we birthed were stolen from us before they could learn to sing. End their suffering. They cannot be saved. They will only cause harm as they are.”

The commander realized what the queen was asking. "You want us to kill your children.” She heaved a weary sigh and nodded slowly; more souls to add to her ledger of death. “Alright. I don't think they'll give me much choice, anyway.”

Ashley shook her head sadly. She knew what the heavy price of ending so many sentient lives would do to Erisa; the weight she would feel obliged to carry. Perhaps her time on the Normandy was changing her as well, in the past she’d have seen the Rachni as nothing but alien bugs to squash; but her time spent with her new alien friends had her seeing things differently now. The Rachni were victims in this; and although they’d killed people, they were perhaps more innocent that the scientists who’d created them.

The Rachni Queen spoke again, laying her fate at Shepard’s feet. “Before you deal with our children, we stand before you. What will you sing? Will you release us? Are we to fade away once more?”

Standing behind Shepard, Garrus advised the more prudent, cautious approach. “The Rachni were a threat to the galaxy, Shepard. It took the uplifting of the Krogan to bring them to heel in the end. We can’t risk it.” He pointed up at a reservoir above the Queen’s cell. “Those tanks are filled with acid. If she gets out of hand, they dissolve her.”

Ashley had to agree, despite what she knew it would cost her lover. “I’m with Garrus, commander. The Rachni are dangerous, we can’t just let them loose on the galaxy. This shouldn’t even be our call; they had their time and it was long before us.”

Liara, still cradling her mother’s body, looked up. Tears streaked her blue cheeks and pain haunted her eyes, but her voice had a vehement tone to it, forceful and insistent. “They made a mistake, Shepard. The Council back then let the krogan go too far. This is a chance for us to atone. She has done nothing to us.”

“Your companions hear the truth,” whispered the Queen through her commando proxy. “You have the power to free us, or return our people to the silence of memory.”

Looking up at the acid tanks, Shepard shuddered viscerally. She understood firsthand the pain that kind of death would inflict, and when she looked back at her squad there were tears in her eyes, her voice quivering as she pled with them; Ashley most of all. “Don’t make me do this, please... I'm already carrying so many dead.” Ash’s heart almost broke as she saw the immensity of what was being asked of Erisa, and she wanted to go to her, to hold her in her arms so she’d feel safe again; but she couldn’t. Shepard took a deep breath and set her jaw, her eyes glittered with determination as she reached a decision. “I-I won’t, I _can’t_ be party to the genocide of an entire race just because the Council races are afraid history is going to repeat itself. Liara is right; this is a second chance for everyone involved; a chance to do things differently, to find a peaceful way to coexist.” Turning back to the Queen, she addressed the Rachni directly. “If you promise to disappear, to go to some hidden place, then I’ll release you. You'll go free.”

 “You will give us the chance to compose anew? We will remember. We will sing of your forgiveness to our children,” promised the young Queen.

Shepard raised the pod and opened the release hatch as she nodded. “Then go in peace, and pray I do not live to regret sparing you.”

The commander stepped up to the console that remotely opened the acid reservoirs above the pens containing the Queen’s unborn eggs and her children maddened by silence, but Ashley stepped up and put a hand over Erisa’s. “I’ve got this.” Shepard looked up from the console and gave the love of her life a gentle, sad smile. “No, it’s okay. Really. It’s my responsibility. I promised her we’d kill her young; so that’s what I’ll do.” Ashley wasn’t going to be dissuaded though, and she spoke softly but firmly. “No Erisa. I’ll do it. I know what it’ll cost you, and I’m not going to lose any more of you to the dead.” She gently moved Erisa’s hand away from the controls and gave the commander a warm, loving smile. “I’m already sharing you with enough ghosts.” Before Shepard could reply, Ashley brought up the release controls and opened the tanks. It was done. Ashley gave a soft sigh and then looked back to Liara, still on the floor with her mother's body. "Besides, you've got other things to do, Skipper."

Shepard reached turned her hand beneath Ashley’s and squeezed it tight, her dark eyes filled with gratitude as she silently mouthed her thanks. Composing herself, the commander called the Normandy, reported the death of the Matriarch and asked them to contact Parasini to arrange for the pickup and delivery of the body to the ship. She then moved to Liara and crouched at her side, gently laying a hand on shoulder. "Liara. It’s time to go." A tear streaked face looked up at Shepard, but Erisa remained steadfast and unmoved in the face of her friend’s grief; however much she understood it. There would be time to mourn later, but they still had work to do. Shepard shifted her hand to under Liara's arm, and stood up, giving Liara a little lift. This time Liara responded, and finally stood up. Shepard released a soft sigh and pulled her mourning friend close. As the Asari clung to her, weeping steadily into her shoulder, Shepard held her gently, saying, "I'm sorry, Li. I'm so sorry..."

\-------------------------------

The crew of the Normandy stood at attention on the loading ramp as the ERCS squad delivered the stasis pod containing the body of Matriarch Benezia T'Soni. A marine honour guard was waiting to receive the body, and the Matriarch was escorted onto the SSV Normandy with full honours; protocol be damned. She’d been as much a victim of Sovereign as any of the marines on Eden Prime or salarians at Virmire and Shepard was going to make damn sure the Council understood that. She’d been forced to kill her friend’s mother in front of her; she owed Liara that much at least. As soon as the pod was secured, Lieutenant Pressly dismissed the troops. Soon there were only the four figures on deck; Shepard and Ashley flanking the grieving Liara, and Garrus, who stood ramrod straight beside Benezia’s temporary tomb, keeping vigil over the dead as honour guard. He’d requested, demanded in fact, that he be given the detail. It was his way of paying Liara his respects; and apologising for his part in her mother’s death. Erisa and Ashley were there for the same reasons. Liara had become a good friend to them both; indeed they both owed their lives to the shy archaeologist, in one way or another, so both women were determined to be there for her in her time of need. They had made the time to get cleaned up, and had presented themselves in dress blues to escort Liara. Standing at attention, they flanked Liara, a protective shell about the mourning daughter as they did all they could to support her with just their presence. Liara had also cleaned up, and was silently stoic, her face devoid of expression, other than a deep ache reflected in her eyes. No words were said, for what words were there that could assuage the pain of that loss? No, they would stand there all night if Liara needed them to. The OSD had already been passed to Tali, along with orders for it to be decrypted, and as for the debrief and planning, they could wait until the morrow. So, the pair simply stood; twin pillars of unwavering support as the rest of the world shifted rapidly under Liara's feet.

It was Ashley who finally broke the silence. In the echo chamber that was the now cavernous cargo bay, her gentle voice lifted up, high and clear as she began to recite the only known work of Mary Elizabeth Frye.

 _“_ _Do not stand at my grave and weep_  
_I am not there; I do not sleep._  
 _I am a thousand winds that blow,_  
 _I am the diamond glints on snow,_  
 _I am the sun on ripened grain,_  
 _I am the gentle autumn rain.”_  
  
Shepard’s voice soon joined hers, her gentle Afrikaans accent lending a strange cadence to the poet’s words that only accentuated the poem’s nuances and intent.

 _“_ _When you awaken in the morning's hush_  
_I am the swift uplifting rush_  
 _Of quiet birds in circled flight._  
 _I am the soft stars that shine at night._  
 _Do not stand at my grave and cry,_  
 _I am not there; I did not die.”_  
  
The quiet recitation that spoke more to the celebration of a life than the mourning of a death broke the drought of tears and Liara began to weep again softly. Between them, Erisa and Ashley gently guided Liara over to the stasis pod, and a single quiet sob escaped Liara's lips before she was able to stop it. Liara spoke so softly that her words almost went unheard, but Shepard’s sharp ears caught them, if only faintly. "Goddess... I can't believe she's actually gone." Liara's trembling hand caressed the lid of the pod. Erisa laid a gentle hand upon a shaky shoulder and she spoke with all the eloquence she possessed. “She’s not gone, Li. The best of her lives on, in you. Her determination, her intelligence; her strength. They are her gifts to you, just like your memories of her. So hold on to them. Cherish the past you remember; don’t dwell on what she became; what our enemies made her. Remember her love. Beyond that, nothing else matters.”

After another brief storm of weeping passed, Shepard was able to encourage Liara to head toward the med bay, and while she visited the doctor to finish off the treatment the Rift Station’s medbay had started; she left Ashley to get Liara settled into her room. Even though she convinced Liara to lie down, and got her tucked under the blankets on her bed, Ash feared sleep would be a long time coming. She gently squeezed Liara's shoulder through the blankets, and whispered, "Get some rest doc. ‘Risa and I... we’re here for you. Anytime, or anything. Just call and we’re here, okay?” Standing, Ashley watched her friend until she finally drifted off to sleep, then with a sigh; she slipped out of the room. She needed to be with Erisa right now; to find some comfort of her own in the face of what they’d all been forced to do that day.

She found the commander back in her quarters, sitting in her office chair and staring out into the void of space, a tumbler of Don Julio held gently in a gloved hand, the jacket of her dress blues hanging over the back of the chair. Without preamble, Ashley poured a glass for herself and took a hefty swallow; savouring the alcohol burn in her chest as she undid her own jacket and let it hang loose. Silently she padded over to where Shepard sat and slid into Erisa’s lap, an arm about the commander’s shoulders and her head resting softly against Shepard’s. Erisa didn’t move much, just pulled Ash’s legs up over the left arm of the chair and rested her gloved palm against a warm thigh. Slowly she took a long sip from her own tumbler and turned her head slightly, pressing her lips to Ash’s temple. Looking back out the window at the planet below them, she let out a long sigh. “Hell of a day.”

All Ashley could do was nod; Erisa had summed it up perfectly. They sat in silence a while, taking comfort in each other’s company as they slowly sipped their drinks, recharging drained emotional reserves, until Ash broke the quiet to address the unspoken thought they both shared. “Think she’ll ever forgive us?” All Erisa could do was shrug. “No. Maybe.” She finished her tequila then looked up into Ashley’s brown eyes, the weight of what they’d had to do reflecting in her own. “Could you? What if it had been your mom? Or Abby, or Lynn that had been indoctrinated? Would you be able to forgive that?” Ash shuddered at the very thought and stopped Shepard’s lips with her thumb. “Okay, no. Don’t- don’t go there; please. I can’t bear to even think of that, not today.” Erisa nodded and let it go, she’d made her point but it hadn’t felt nice doing so, and she let out another sigh, closing her eyes as she rested her brow against Ash’s. “God, I _wish_ I’d left her behind today. It would have made things so much...” she struggled for the right word. “Easier?” offered Ashley, “Cleaner.” Shepard replied. Ash just shook her head. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t because without Li along today; I’d be in there with her, bawling my eyes out into a pillow.” Erisa gave a soft smile at that and nodded. “Yeah, good point.”  She looked up at her love with a wry smirk. “I wouldn’t have pegged you as a crier though.” Ashley gave her a deadly serious look. “If I ever lost you, I would be. And you have no idea how much that scares me.” Putting down her glass, Erisa reached up and gently caressed Ash’s cheek before pulling her down into a tender, loving kiss. “Never going to happen, Williams,” she said, a fierce determination in her voice. Ashley smiled into the kiss then slipped off Erisa’s lap and held out her hand as she stood. “C’mon. I’m exhausted. Let’s get some sleep.” Shepard took the proffered hand and smiled as she let Ashley pull her out of the chair and towards the bedroom. “Best idea I’ve heard all day.”   


	25. In The Aftermath

Shepard came awake slowly, drifting up out of a deep and dreamless sleep; one of which she hoped would be another in a long line of nights without nightmares. The bed felt small again and she smiled to herself, remembering what that meant. The smell of coffee and cooked breakfast permeated the air of her quarters; but when she heard a strange, unfamiliar voice, her survivor’s instincts brought her to full alertness in seconds and she sat up, ready to defend herself in just a pair of navy sweatpants and a sportsbra. The sight that greeted her though was a most pleasant one indeed. Ashley, dressed in a pair of tight, black boyshorts and wearing one of Erisa’s plaid shirts, unbuttoned, sat cross-legged on the right side of the bed; a cup of steaming coffee in one hand and a holopad playing what looked like a vidmail resting on her lap. The unfamiliar voice came from the vid and from what looked like a younger version of Ashley. _"...Mom's doing well though. Oh hey, my ride's here gotta go sis!"_

At Erisa’s sudden start, Ash looked over at her and smiled fondly. “Oh hey, you're awake. I was just catching up on mail from home, needed to hear their voices again, you know? Especially after yesterday.” She nodded to the foot of the bed then, and Erisa followed her gaze and saw a breakfast tray sitting on the sheets, laden with eggs, bacon and coffee. “CS Ryder brought breakfast by. For _two_.” The brunette ran a hand through her long tresses, teasing out a knot before it snarled. “Either you put in an order last night, or we’re being way too obvious.” With it clear there was no danger, the instincts that had brought her suddenly awake fell into the background and she yawned, sleepy again, before stretching. Throwing back the covers, she reached down to the end of the bed for the other cup of coffee, leaning over to kiss Ashley as she did so. “Nope, wasn’t me. Must be that obvious thing we’re doing.” She smirked dryly for a moment. “You know, we might want to consider being a little more... restrained outside those doors. As much as I appreciate being frenched after a firefight; it’s not the most professional thing.” Ash gave a guilty smile. “Yeah, guess you’re right. I couldn’t help it though... the way you totally dominated that smug blue bitch was just so _hot_.” Settling in behind Ashley, she slipped her right arm about the brunette’s waist and took her first sip of morning coffee before resting her chin on Ash’s shoulder; peering over it at the holopad. “Well, I can’t blame you for wanting to check in with your family, _mndani_. Especially after yesterday,” she said, echoing Ashley’s words. “Are you close to them?”

Ash nodded as she leant back, snuggling into Erisa’s body. “Well, it's just me, my mom and my sisters, so yeah. With Dad on duty so much I had to help Mom raise them.” Erisa smiled warmly and turned her head to kiss Ash’s cheek. “You're lucky to have such a close family.”

She felt Ashley stiffen against her a little and thought something was wrong, only to hear her girlfriend’s tone become a little embarrassed and sheepish. “Oh shit. Sorry, 'Risa. I uh, I guess I kinda forgot about your own family situation.” Erisa smirked a little and jabbed Ashley in the ribs gently. “Or lack, thereof. Relax, Ash. I've dealt with it. Mindoir was a long time ago now. I've done my grieving for Mum and Dad. Besides, I still have Anderson and Karin. It's different, sure, but the Captain's looked out for me ever since his squad picked me up and Karin's been the same, they're always there if I need them. And now I have you too.” 

Ash relaxed at her reassurances, and suddenly smiled at her last words. Their relationship was still only days old but every hour brought new realisations that made one, the other, or both; just that much happier. “Yeah. Yeah I guess you do, don't you. See, ask me to clear a bunker of armed hostiles, no problem. But dealing with the foot in my mouth? I'm not so good with that. As for family, things were tense between Sarah and me for a while. Then we... bonded.”

Shepard had leant back against the bed head so she could drink her coffee without spilling it all over Ash, but Ash had just followed her back; wanting to stay in Erisa’s arms for as long as she could. “Sounds like a story. What happened?”

Stretching out her legs, Ash hooked the breakfast tray with a delicate foot and dragged it up the bed towards them until she could reach the plate of crisp bacon strips. “Sarah got herself a boyfriend who wanted to go faster than she did, Mike. I didn't think he was a bad kid. Just... pushy. Lynn would send me these worried vid mails and I'd tell her to relax.”

Shepard frowned a little, but it was nothing surprising. They’d all known guys like that at high school or growing up. Most weren’t bad guys, they just hadn’t learned not to think with their dicks. “You know, if he really liked her, he wouldn't have pushed.”

 “Really? You're going there?” Ash said, a wry smirk on her face as an eyebrow lifted in query. “Miss ‘made her first move on me on the floor of the gym’?” Erisa couldn’t help a little snort at that and she blushed beneath her dark colouring. “Ah... well. Who made the first move and when is still debatable, but for now, the point is conceded.”

Ashley shook her head at Erisa, a warm smile on lips that Shepard thought looked eminently kissable. “Dumbass. Anyway, Mike thought they'd go for a romantic walk in the woods. 'Cause it was past time they did the deed. She levered Mike face-first into a tree and left. Didn't have a scratch on her. Good thing Mom and Dad had us all learn some kind of self defence. I took emergency leave and walked Sar to school for a few days.”

“Anything happen while you were home playing Mama Bear?” Erisa asked curiously. “You could say that,” Ashley replied, a little bemused by the memory. “My last day out, Mike was waiting for us. Sar had told her friends, so everyone at school knew what he did, he wasn't happy. I wanted to snap him in half, But... Sar gave me this look. This 'let me handle it, I need to do this alone' look. She kept her cool- God bless her- as he screamed in her face. She just let him vent. Then he tried to punch her. I swear, she just flowed around him. Next thing I know he's face down on the sidewalk, and there's blood everywhere.”

Shepard gave a low whistle and her tactical mind instantly began to list the probable styles of self defence Sarah might have been taught. “Damn... Sarah must be as good as you.”

Ash had never looked prouder in that moment. “Better. I'm more or less a straight up puncher. When he swung she just-- She wasn't there anymore. And he fell. She helped him stop the bleeding, and had me call an ambulance. She told the paramedics he fell. Before they took him to hospital, Mike touched Sar's arm. I thought he was going to end up on the ground again, but he hung his head, whispered 'I'm sorry' and started crying. And she hugged him.” Ashley set down her coffee and spun in Erisa’s arms until she could look the nubian-skinned woman in the eyes. “The Williams women are a decisive bunch, sweetie. We do things when we're ready, not before, not after.”

That got a wry grin from the commander. “You say decisive, I say stubborn. Speaking of family... have you told them about us yet?” Erisa asked. She wasn’t in any hurry to let people know about them; not that she had anyone to tell. The only people that mattered to her, with the exception of Captain Anderson, were on this ship; and that meant they already knew. She was pretty sure Karin would have spilled the beans to Anderson by now too, albeit in her subtle, british manner.

Ashley gave Erisa a slightly guilty look and shook her head. “No. Is that bad? I was kinda always the good one. I had to set an example for Abby, Lynn and Sarah growing up so I didn't date much. Looking after those three brats was almost a full time job in itself. I'm just not sure how they're going to react, you know? Their oldest sister, the uptight, prim one, in a bi relationship with her CO, the Spectre... I know Mom would throw a fit. Not at the gay thing, but the breaking regs for sure. Don't forget the Williams' are fourth generation Alliance.”

Shepard gave her girlfriend a soft smile and a quick, reassuring kiss. “Yeah, I can see how that might make things difficult. Just... don't be afraid to tell them when you're ready okay? There's no use in living a lie just to spare someone else's feelings. You don't mention your Dad much. Wasn't your family stationed near him?”

Ash shook her head, a tinge of sadness on an otherwise happy face as she recalled her childhood. “Dad always wanted to serve in space. But he wanted us to have real ground under our feet. He'd say 'space is beautiful, but you can't raise a family there.' ‘I cannot rest from travel: I will drink life to the lees. All times I have enjoy'd greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those that loved me, and alone’."

"’For always roaming with a hungry heart. Much have I seen and known. Cities of men, and manners, climates, councils, governments...’” Erisa finished quoting the verse and smiled, her expression contemplative as she considered the words. “I always liked Tennyson. There's something... grand about his works, you know? They have this quiet dignity to them, this weighty presence that commands your attention.”

Ashley could only shake her head softly in wonderment. “It amazes me sometimes; how completely different you are when we're in private.” Impulsively, she leant over and kissed Erisa warmly, tempted to sink back into her arms and spend the day in bed with her; duties be damned, before she finally pulled back. “Anyway, Ulysses was my Dad's favourite. I still read it to his grave every time I go home. Dad passed on a few years back, he's probably still watching though, looking down on his little girl from Heaven.”

“I'm sorry _mndani_ ,” Erisa said sympathetically, “you should have told me. Now I feel bad for playing the whole 'dead parents' sympathy card.”

Ash shrugged it off; it was an old wound and one that had healed; even if the pain of it would never truly go away. “That's okay, if we survive this I'll have to take you next time I go, introduce you to the old man. That's not a problem with you, is it? That I believe in God?” She asked curiously.

Erisa smirked and shook her head. “You know that old saw ‘there's never an atheist in a fox hole’? I've been in a lot of fox holes, Ash.”

“Yeah. I guess you have.” Lying back on the bed, Ashley squirmed about until she got comfortable; comfortable in this case meaning closer to their breakfast. She soon wound up on her back, her knees up and head resting in Erisa’s lap. “I've met a few people who were really weirded out by my faith. Like because I work in space, I can't believe in a higher power? Geez. Hello? Have you people looked out a window? How can you look at this galaxy and not believe in something?”

Shepard grinned, nodding. “Yeah, I get what you mean. My Mom's faith was more traditional Christian; it was really my Dad who taught me the old ways. My ancestors used to call that higher power _Mungu_. He, well, it, wasn't so much a creator as a protector. They believed all of this out here is eternal, that it was always here and always will be. _Mungu_ was more an intrinsic part of the whole, a being that protected the animals and natural world. Some old legends say he grew discontent with man's corruption of nature and distanced himself from us. Looking back at the way things were on Earth before the Charon relay was found... can't say I blame Him.”

Ashley smiled warmly, looking up at Erisa as her head rested in the other woman’s lap while she listened to her love talk about her beliefs. “Your heritage is important to you, isn't it?”

 “Yeah, I guess it is,” Shepard said with a soft smile, gently running her fingers through Ash’s brunette locks. “It's all I really have left of Dad, the language, the old stories and myths. I got my Mum's looks though, so I didn't lose her completely either.”

Ash grinned naughtily and tossed her girlfriend a wink. “Well, then I can officially confirm it, sweetie. Your Mom was hot.”

Erisa laughed and whacked Ash with her pillow. “Eww, gross you freak. I don't need the mental image of my Mum making out with my girlfriend, thank you very much. Now c'mon, get that pretty ass of yours up.” Her mood turned a little more sombre as she slipped out from beneath Ash’s head and clambered out of bed. “We’ve still got work to do; the Conduit isn’t going to find itself. And one of us at least, should go check on Li.”

\------------------------------------------

It was a sombre group that sat around the conference room that morning. For obvious reasons, Liara hadn’t joined them, but the debrief on Noveria had to happen before any important details got lost to foggy memories. Shepard stood up to get started. "Alright everyone, we might as well get this show on the road. Tali, what'd you get from that OSD?"

Tali sounded disgusted. "I had crypto working on the drive overnight just to confirm the data, in case what you got from Benezia was another of Saren’s ploys or delaying tactics. It took them all night to account for two millennia of stellar drift and gravitational anomalies but in the end, their conclusions lined up with the original coordinates on the drive. And we can forget it. According to the coordinates we got and the ones crypto generated, the Mu Relay's inside the Terminus Systems. Alliance ships are not welcome there. Neither are Spectres. It's going to take a fleet to get in there. A single ship, even if that ship is the Normandy, just isn’t going to cut it."

Ashley pitched in, "Screw the Terminus! Our stealth system can get us in, but Saren will have his entire fleet, plus Sovereign, orbiting Ilos. We'll never make it down to the surface in a shuttle, or the Mako, without reinforcements.” She sighed, some of the fire in her voice dying. “I can't believe I'm saying this... but we need to alert either the Alliance or the Council. It’s going to take a fleet to get to him on Ilos, and even then we _still_ don’t know what the Conduit is or where to look for it."

Shepard looked around the room, and everyone just sat there, silent. "Well, I guess that's in then, if nobody has any more to add?" He looked around one last time and no one said a word. "Ok, the Conduit's on Ilos. That's where Saren's heading. As much as I hate the idea personally, I guess we’re going back to the Citadel.” She let out a sigh of disgust. “Everyone, dismissed. Garrus; hang back a minute. I need to talk to you."

The group stood up sullenly and filed out. They all hated the plan, but no one had a better idea, the Citadel Council was the best option open to them at the moment, the only option really. It burned her to have to ask the Council for help; especially when she didn't honestly believe they'd get it. Shepard opened a comm line. "Moreau. Lay in a course to the Citadel. Best speed." Upon receiving confirmation, she turned to look at Garrus. “I want you to work with Moreau, come up with a tactical plan on how to get onto Ilos without any additional support.” A look of dry bemusement passed over his aquiline face, a mandible twitching ever so slightly and she gave a snort in response. “Yeah, I know. Ask the impossible why don’t I? I need a backup plan, Garrus. In case the Council decides to show its usual amount of backbone and doesn’t listen to me.” That dry, ever so subtly sarcastic voice came back at her. “You know, perhaps if you stopped hanging up on them every time you gave a report they might stop disliking you so... intently.” Cold eyes looked up into his and he raised his open hands in a mockery of surrender. “Just saying Shepard. I’ll be on the bridge talking to Joker and going over the little intel we have on Ilos. Just... don’t expect a miracle.” She nodded and clapped a friendly hand to his shoulder. “Give it your best shot, Vakarian. That’s all I can ask.”

When she had finished speaking with Garrus, they parted ways outside the conference room and she headed to the med bay. As much as she wasn’t looking forward to it, she knew she had to talk to Liara and find out where the asari’s head was at. Forgiveness wasn't something she expected, but she was familiar with the grief of losing a parent and she hoped she’d be able to help her blue friend through it. Karin was busy with paperwork, so Erisa stuck her head in the door of Liara's room and was somewhat surprised that the asari was actually sleeping, so she left her to her rest. For now at least, resting would have to be enough. In the mean time, she returned to her quarters and cleaned her armour and weapons, then drafted a message to Councillor Tevos to inform her of the circumstances surrounding the death of the Matriarch. For Liara's sake, Shepard hoped to have Benezia's name cleared, as a victim to Saren and Sovereign, not an accomplice. She also had a huge announcement for Ashley, so headed down to the armory, hoping the news was welcome.

She also poked her head into engineering to round up Adams and Tali; didn't want them to miss it. Ash was in her accustomed spot at the weapons bench, cleaning up the battle damage and wear and tear from the hard fighting on Noveria, when the commander and Lieutenant Pressly walked up. Normally a visit from Erisa would be the high point of a boring day, but the commander was acting a lot more formal, and Pressly almost _never_ left the CIC. Something was going on. She eyed them nervously. "What's going on, ma'am?’’ She asked, remaining formal herself. Given the presence of the XO and the chief engineer, it wouldn’t do to flaunt her off-duty relationship with the Commander.

Shepard had to hide a smirk and instead she put on her serious face. She had been working with Admiral Hackett on something very special for Marine Gunnery Chief Williams, and the approval had come through. Now it was time for Ash to get the dues she had earned, and was rightly owed.

The commander stood up tall, and received a folder from the Lieutenant. She glanced at the contents one more time before speaking, making a show of looking through the signed pages. "Marine Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, I’m afraid I’ve received a number of complaints about you, regarding violations of the military uniform code. Specifically, that you have been noted performing your duties whilst incorrectly dressed, and for impersonating a non commissioned officer in the Alliance Marine Corps."

She’d no sooner gotten those words out before Ashley was already shaking her head in disbelief, a vehement protest springing to her lips. "What? No way, Skipper. I haven’t done any such thing! And- and what do you mean, impersonating an NCO? I _am_ an NCO in the Marine Corps!” It was all beginning to overwhelm Ashley and Erisa couldn’t keep up the ruse much longer; especially when she knew how much being a devil dog meant to the woman she loved. So she smiled. “I’m afraid not, Marine. You _are_ out of uniform... lieutenant.”

At the shocked and rather confused look on Ashley's face, Shepard was free to continue. Opening a small, blue velvet covered box, she presented it to Ash; nestled within were a set of silver lieutenant's bars. The unusual presence of Pressly had attracted additional attention, so everyone in the armoury ended up watching, including the supply sergeant, Wrex, and Garrus; and every one of them heard the announcement.

Shepard smiled warmly. "Under orders from the Secretary of the Navy and with the authorisation of the Admiralty, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Alliance Marine Corps. Congratulations, Lieutenant Williams." Erisa gave the somewhat stunned Ashley a fond smile and handed her the file she had been given by her XO. "Admiral Hackett authorised my request this morning. It's all above board and official. Those are your official discharge papers from the Marine Corps, ending your career as a Gunnery Chief, and your re-enlistment papers in the officer corps as a junior lieutenant." Ashley was at a loss for words, but Shepard could see the suspicious look in her brown eyes and moved quickly to allay those misgivings. Stepping closer to Ash, she removed the chevron-and-bar pins from her uniform collar then gently took the silver bars out of their case and pinned first one, then the other into place. Close enough to whisper without others overhearing, she reassured Ashley. "This has nothing to do with us and our... particular circumstances Ash, I promise. I wouldn't do that to you, you know that, right?"

The new lieutenant nodded dumbly as Erisa stepped back; then she found her voice. "I know. This is just so... unexpected. I mean, I thought the Williams' curse would keep me out of the running for any more promotions, I was sure I’d topped out at Gunnery Chief. Thank you!”

 The entire group erupted in cheers.  _About damn time we got some good news for a change!_ Shepard smiled and clapped Ashley on the shoulder, offering congratulations. She pointed at Pressly, and he and Ashley got together to sign the paperwork and submit the requisitions for uniforms, further rank insignia, and the other bureaucratic paperwork that accompanied promotions. Feeling a little bit lighter of heart, the commander announced, "Drinks tonight in the Mess!" and returned to the main deck of the Normandy.

Shepard returned to the med bay and looked at Karin, motioning with her head toward Liara's door. Karin sadly shook her head no. Shepard walked in and paced towards Liara’s door before turning on her heel as she thought better of it, walking back towards the doctor. That happened several times as she struggled to find the right way of broaching the topic of grief with her asari friend. In the end though, Karin calmly looked at the commander, an eyebrow arching as she spoke dryly. “Are you going to go in and talk to her, or just wear a groove in my deck plating?” Shepard gave the doctor a snarky look then sighed and walked over to sit on the edge of the doctor’s desk as she started speaking. "I think I need some of that annoyingly correct motherly advice you so enjoy dispensing.” Karin looked up at Erisa and smirked softly. “I prefer to think of it as maternal wisdom, but go on.” Shepard poked out her tongue and heaved another sigh. “I don't know how to help her through this, doc. I mean let’s be honest; I’ve never been good with grief. I understand it better than most people, yeah, but dealing with it? I’ve always just bottled it up and then let it out in episodic bouts of violence and alcoholism. Not something I can exactly picture Liara doing, you know?  I killed her mother right in front of her. How do you help someone process that kind of grief without being a constant reminder of what they’ve lost?"

Karin shook her head. "I don't know, my dear. How you help is something you'll have to work out for yourself, if she even wants your help. But I do know she can't possibly blame you, so there is nothing to forgive.” Shepard smirked. “That’s not how grief works, doc. There’s _plenty_ of stuff I shouldn’t blame myself for; hasn’t stopped me from doing so though. There are a lot of things that were out of my control that I still can’t forgive myself for. Grief is emotional, not logical... and you know how much I suck at emotions.” Karin had to concede the point, but she pressed on with her maternal wisdom. “True enough, I suppose, but Liara knew the reality of the situation going in; she knew what might happen. You all were placed in an impossible situation and now you have to see your way clear to make the best of it you can. Talk to her. It's all you can do." Shepard nodded and straightened back to her feet, letting out a big sigh as she relaxed. Thanking Karin, She closed her eyes briefly to centre herself, then opened them again and stepped quietly into the back room.

She was quite surprised to find Liara up and about, dressed in a clean uniform and sitting at her work station. Her armour and weapons had been cleaned and sat against the wall she used as her armoury, and outwardly there was little trace of her grief. It wasn’t until she stood and turned to greet the commander that Shepard saw it there; lurking in the back of Liara’s crystal blue eyes. She was a little stiff and formal as well, but that was understandable, thought Shepard. It would be a little tense between them until Liara sorted through her emotions and decided how she felt about what Shepard had done. “If you are here to talk about Benezia’s death,” she said, soundly oddly detached from her own voice, “you need not bother. She brought it upon herself.”

Shepard frowned at her words. Perhaps Liara _was_ the type to suppress her emotions; or maybe she’d learnt that from her. “Don’t pretend it doesn’t bother you, Liara. She was your mother,” Shepard said.

“She was...” Liara acknowledged stiffly, “but she was not. I prefer to remember Benezia as she used to be; before she was corrupted by Sovereign’s power and Saren’s influence.” It was Erisa’s turn to nod. “That’s probably very wise,” she said, “but you don’t have to do this alone. I lost both my parents when Mindoir was raided and I was only sixteen at the time. I know what it feels like to lose the people who were the most important in your life. If you feel like talking...”

Another forced smile came from Liara, and despite her words, Erisa knew she wasn’t getting through. “That is kind of you to offer, Shepard, but I am fine. Benezia chose her path, just as I have chosen mine. I am with you to the end, Shepard.”

Erisa hid a frown of her own and nodded. “Okay then, just checking up on you. If you’re interested there will be a small celebration in the mess hall tonight; Ashley’s promotion to second lieutenant came through this morning. We should be back at the Citadel in a day or so; we’ve done all we can to hunt down Saren but we need Council support for the final confrontation. I’m praying that for once, they’ll listen.” The asari archaeologist nodded. “I’m sure they will, commander. Now, if you will excuse me? There is a great deal to be done in the wake of my mother’s passing.”

Shepard could only wonder what that meant, but she nodded respectfully and backed out of the room. So far, things weren’t going well.

\------------------------------------------

That night Shepard was more than a little surprised when Liara made an appearance in the mess, and she gave her blue friend an encouraging smile. It was good to see that she’d rallied a little and come out of her room; if only for a short while. Liara though, despite her best efforts, wasn’t really in the mood and sort of just pushed her food around her plate for a while, Looking on, Garrus shook his head sadly, then found a glass of what looked like Thessia Red and sat next to her, handing her the glass of wine. "Here, Liara. Take this. It might take some of the edge off and help you actually get some of that in your mouth, instead of just making it do laps on your plate." The comment actually got a brief smile, and Liara focused on actually eating something. Once she got started, she realized how hungry she was, and finished off a good portion of what was on her plate.

As the rest of the crew ate and drank, toasting Ashley’s good fortune and new rank, Erisa looked on fondly as the crew embraced their new lieutenant. After a brief speech, the drinks started to flow and Ashley came to sit beside Erisa, a happy smile on her face, despite the question in her eyes. Shepard smirked softly and reached beneath the table to hold her lover’s hand. “Still wondering why, aren’t you?” she said softly, only for Ash to nod. “It’s simple, really. With Kaidan gone I need a new Alliance officer onboard to lead Bravo squad. Any replacement from the AMC would need to be vetted first, get Council approval, and then be read in to the mission; not to mention the hassle of integrating a new man into our field teams and the teething problems of training a new officer to do things our way. Promoting you just made sense; I get my officer with no hassles and you finally get the recognition you damn well deserve. Both Anderson and Hackett agreed. I may have recommended you for the posting, but it wasn't for personal reasons. I know how much making it on your own merits means to you; I'm not going to interfere with that just because we're a couple." Ashley's doubtful expression broke, becoming a warm smile and she hugged the commander. "Thank you 'Risa. I won't let you down." Shepard returned the close embrace and smiled. "I know you won't LT.”

Liara wasn't terribly surprised when Wrex plopped himself down next to her; having a similar long life span, he was a kindred soul and ever since he originally carried her to the med bay when they fetched her off Therum, he had taken it upon himself to watch out for her; just as he had with Tali. He was like an ugly older brother, but Liara found him sweet and endearing, though she'd never say such a thing to his face. They sat in amicable silence for bit, just having the big Krogan near providing its own sort of comfort, before Wrex gave her a sidelong glance and started speaking. "One of the reasons I left Tuchanka... main reason, really. My father was clan leader and we had a disagreement on how things should be run. He felt I was going to challenge him for leadership someday. He decided to eliminate the competition and tried to kill me, so I killed him instead, then I left Tuchanka to become a mercenary. Never wanted to be clan leader to begin with, stupid old Krogan." Wrex reached a huge hand over and patted Liara 'gently' on the back, almost knocking her over with its unexpectedness. "Hell of a thing to have to kill your own parent. Sorry, kid. I know it's tough, but if you wanna, you know... talk... you can talk to me anytime. I'll understand."

Liara was actually glad that Wrex had practically knocked her out of her chair; the surprise of it had kept her from breaking down and crying on the spot from what Wrex said to her. And his offer to talk, under other circumstances, would have been funny. Liara was sure it meant her talking and him grunting in response, merely providing her an avenue through which to vent, but his heart was in the right place and she appreciated the effort. She was pretty sure he had never made that sort of offer to anyone else on the crew. She looked at the big Krogan and laid her hand atop the huge hand that had returned to the table. She swallowed down the big lump that had formed in her throat and whispered, "Thank you, Wrex. I really do appreciate it, but I'm afraid I... I don't really know yet what I could even possibly say. I... I am sorry to hear about your father." She fell into an awkward silence and stared at their hands, her little blue hand dwarfed by the Krogan's brown one, unable to say any more.

Wrex looked down at her, and as gentle as a Krogan could be, said, "Don't worry about it, kid. When you're ready, the words will come." Suddenly the big gruff scary Krogan again, he stood up and rumbled away from the table, "I'm gonna go clean my shotgun," and wandered to the weapons bench. Before long, Liara said her farewells, congratulated Ashley, and slipped away to her room; Shepard watched her retreat and sighed softly. She hated to see her friend having to suffer through her grief, but it was natural, part of a process she knew all too intimately. Gritting her teeth, Shepard decided to deal with it like she did all the problems she’d ever faced; head on. Standing, she slipped away to her quarters and retrieved a full bottle of Don Julio then made her way to the medbay, snagging three glasses as she passed through the raucous mess hall. Catching Ash’s eye, she gestured towards Liara’s room with her head and waited for her to join her.   

When they walked into Liara’s room, the young asari was sitting on her bed, staring sadly at a picture of Benezia; fingertips lightly tracing the photograph as if she were trying to capture and hold every last line and curve of her mother’s face. She looked up at the sudden interruption, annoyance at the intrusion into her grief clear on her face; but Shepard ignored it and put the glasses down on the desk near Liara’s work station before uncorking the bottle and pouring three full measures. Setting the bottle down, she picked up two glasses, leaving the third for Ashley as she stepped over to the bed and pushed a glass into her blue friend’s hand. A clink of glass on glass filled the heavy air of the temporary cabin as Shepard touched her drink to Liara’s, then she raised her glass and took a large swallow, feeling the alcohol burn as it made its way down her chest. Irritation gave way to confusion and the young archaeologist peered at the liquor in her glass curiously. “What is this? And why are you here, Shepard?”

Erisa pulled out the seat from the work station and reversed it before sitting astride the chair, leaning on the back as she swirled the amber liquid around her glass. Ashley stood silent, cradling her drink as she waited to find out what Shepard had in mind. “It’s called tequila,” she said flatly, “Don Julio 1942 to be exact; and this...” she said, waving her gloved hand about the cabin, “is called a wake. A human tradition where we celebrate the life of the recently departed with stories and blatant drunkenness.” Ashley hid a small smile at Shepard’s rather blunt approach, and Liara frowned. “I don’t feel like talking, Commander. I said all I have to say this morning.” Shepard ignored her and, with a large swallow, finished off her glass then poured another measure. “Yeah, but that’s what the alcohol is for, T’soni.  _In Vino Veritas_ and all that. Now drink up, you’re falling behind.” Ash took a seat on a nearby crate and drained her glass in one; catching on to the method in Shepard’s madness. Reaching across, she topped up her own glass and raised it. “To the Lady Benezia, may her soul know peace.” Erisa raised her drink at the toast, and had to pause to motion Liara to do the same. T’soni did so with a reluctant sigh, hoping her two friends would get this over with and leave her alone. No such luck though, as Shepard laid it out in direct terms. “You might as well start drinking, Li. Ash and I aren’t leaving until that bottle,” she paused to point to the still rather full flask, “is empty and you’ve started talking. I don’t care what you do. Scream, cry, yell, take a swing at one of us... just get it out. Believe me; I know from experience what bottling that shit up will do to you. You don’t want to end up like me.”

Seeing she had no choice, Liara sighed and took a big swig from her glass then started coughing immediately; her eyes watering. “Goddess! What  _is_ this stuff?” Erisa couldn’t help a wry smirk. “The best damn Tequila old Mexico has to offer. The perfect social lubricant.” That got at least a small smile from the asari, and she steeled herself for another sip. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, both of you,” she said softly, “but there really is nothing else to say.” 

Ash shook her head sadly. “Nothing else to say? Liara... we shot your mother. All three of us, Garrus, Erisa and I. We killed her right in front of you. Think about that, about what we've done to you, to your family."

Silence fell in the room, a heavy, pregnant hush that felt like a stifling blanket. Shepard continued to drink, though slowly, and both Ashley and Liara nursed their glasses until Liara finally spoke, quiet, but steady. "Ashley... Shepard, you did nothing to my family; Saren and Sovereign did. I don’t blame either of you.” She looked up, teary eyed and gave the two human women she regarded as her closest friends a wan smile. “You did everything you could to talk Benezia out of it, even when she was still trying to kill you, you didn’t give up on her. For that I’m grateful.” She took a long pull from her glass and held it out to Shepard, who refilled it silently. “You know, strangely, I’m actually glad you did it. I think I understand now why you left those salarians to die on Virmire. It’s better my mother died a clean death than had to live on like that, a puppet with no will of her own.”

Erisa nodded slowly. It saddened her that Liara had to learn such a harsh lesson in life, especially when she was so young, but perhaps it was for the best. “I’m sorry it had to end the way it did, Li. I’m sorry it was us,” she said with a glance to Ash, “that had to pull the trigger. I just hope that one day you’ll be able to forgive us for that.”

Liara looked up abruptly, making direct eye contact with first Ashley, then Shepard, for the first time since the pair had entered her room. Her blue eyes blazed and there was almost anger in her voice when she spoke. "Ashley Williams and Erisa Shepard! Absolutely not! I will not offer forgiveness where none is required! You will not take the blame for something over which you had no control!" Her irritation spent, her eyes softened as she looked down and she continued, "Benezia brought this upon herself. She was my mother once, but not at the end. I would remember Benezia as she used to be, before she was... corrupted. Before she became Sovereign's puppet."

Shepard smiled softly in the face of Liara’s anger and shook her head. “C’mon Li...,” she said gently, tapping her temple. “You’ve been in here. You know that’s not how I work. I collect the dead like Wrex collects scars. Benezia, for all her faults, wasn’t the villain of this piece; but a victim. I’ll shed no tears over Saren, but your mother? Her I’ll carry with me, along with Kaidan and the rest of them.” Despite the sadness she felt, she spared Liara a soft smile. “You can relax, she’s in good company. Now,” she coughed and topped up their drinks, “this is a wake damn it, so let’s hear a story about your dear old Ma, shall we? Something from the good times to make us all smile.”

Liara couldn’t help but smile and nodded. “Well, there was this one time she caught me digging in the Armali botanical gardens...” The booze and stories began to flow from then, and the three friends talked on into the night; grief giving way to laughter and bad memories to good as they each told tall tales of their departed parents, Ash’s father who’d served as an Alliance soldier, Liara’s mother and her exploits as the head of an Asari noble House; and Erisa’s folks, simple farmers with good hearts.


	26. Justice Long Overdue

The next morning, as the three of them nursed their collective hangovers and ate breakfast together out in the mess hall, Shepard’s omnitool pinged. The noise was enough to see all three women cringe, but Shepard had to check it anyway. It was Joker. "Commander, there's a message for you coming in on an old Alliance priority channel. It's encrypted with an older code, but it checks out."

That got Shepard curious and she looked down at her wrist. "Download it and send it to crypto to be analysed. I'll take it in the conference room. Sound a call for the field team to join us there, just in case it's something important."

Finishing their meals, the trio made their way through the mess hall, up the stairs to the command deck and through the CIC to the conference room, where Shepard had Joker play the decrypted message.

_"Shepard, this is Admiral Kahoku. I've found out who set that trap for my men, the ones killed by the thresher maw. God I hope you get this message. It was a group called Cerberus; an alliance black ops organization, top secret, highest level security clearance. They vanished a few months ago, dropped right off the grid. Nobody knew where they went or what they were up to. They've gone completely rogue, Shepard! They're conducting illegal genetic experiments, trying to create some kind of super-soldier. I... don't have any proof but I found coordinates for one of their research worlds. I'm uploading them with this message. They're completely out of control, somebody needs to stop them. I've done my part, now it's up to you. This is probably the last you'll hear from me. Cerberus is after me now, I need to disappear before they find me."_

Shepard shook her head slowly, a familiar frown creeping over her face. "Cerberus? Damn it..."

Joker's voice followed the sudden end of the Admiral's message. "That's it commander, the message drops out after that. I've got the coordinates he sent. What do you want to do?"

"Plot a course change, Moreau. We’re heading to Binthu in the Yangtze system, Voyager cluster. Best speed.” Looking back to her gathered troops, she frowned as she thought over Kahoku’s last transmission. “What happened on Edolus was too much like Akuze for this to be a coincidence. I need to investigate this, find out if Cerberus was behind Akuze as well. The Citadel and Saren can bloody well wait."

Garrus was the first to speak. "Sounds like you've heard of this Cerberus group before, Commander."

Shepard nodded, though her expression was unsure. "Just whispers and rumours. I only started hearing of them once I was made an N7, and even amongst the N7's Cerberus was a bloody myth, the black ops unit that no one dared to talk about. I suppose you could compare them to the Spectres, really. Apparently not even the Alliance brass could control them; they just knew too much. If even half the stories are true, they know what all the Alliance's dirty little secrets are because they're the ones that buried the bodies."

Ashley shook her head disapprovingly. "Black ops groups are bad news, Shepard, always have been. If you have to deny the mission, it was a crappy mission. What'll you do if they were involved?"

All trace of doubt and hesitancy vanished from Shepard's face, replaced with a cold look of indomitable purpose. "Then I swear to God I won't rest until I've killed every last one of the sons of bitches involved. Not just for Kahoku and his men, but for the 323rd as well. Akuze was the worst day of my life, if what Kahoku found out is true I've got a chance to avenge my men... and maybe, maybe I can finally bury the past."

Ash nodded solemnly, she knew how Erisa felt; it was how she felt about Saren. "Whatever you decide to do, I'm with you Skipper."

Shepard nodded, a grim smile curling her lips. "Thanks Ash, if it is Cerberus...  I'll need all the help I can get. Dismissed for now, people." she said, closing the meeting. "Once we’re within range we’ll bring up what we have on Binthu and mission packets and assignments will be passed out pre-briefing. Joker, how long until we hit system?” There was a slight pause before the Flight Lieutenant’s voice replied. “Running the numbers now, Commander. We’re looking at about... 24 hours including relay transit and FTL travel.” Shepard nodded her thanks, even though Joker wouldn’t see it. “Mission brief this time tomorrow then. Fall out.” Shepard stood and watched as her team filed out of the room until only Ashley remained, the new lieutenant moving to stand beside her; reaching down to slip her hand into Erisa’s. “You sure about this?” she asked softly. “Can Saren really wait another few days? For all we know he’s at the Conduit now.”

Erisa frowned, her expression growing cold. “I’m not letting Cerberus get away with this, Ash. Kahoku’s men, the 212, maybe even the 323rd... we’ve lost too many good marines out here. So yeah,” she said vehemently, “So yes, Saren can wait a day or two.” Ash just nodded, she’d raised her concerns; now she’d do what she did best, follow Shepard into whatever fresh hell was coming.

“Come on, skip. We better dig out what we know about Binthu and start planning. We’ll eat in your quarters while we work.”

Erisa raised an eyebrow and smirked slightly. “What’s this ‘we’ business?” Ash grinned and reached up to her collar, flashing her officer’s bars at Shepard. “I’m an officer now, dumbass. That means I better start learning how to plan ops. And who better than you to teach me?”

Erisa chuckled a little and hand in hand, the two women started heading out of the conference room. As the door slid open, Erisa gave Ashley a querying look. “Are you ever going to call them _our_ quarters? You haven’t been back to your bunk since before Noveria, you know.”  

The former chief smirked. “You asking me to move in? Because I will.” Shepard smiled and leant over to gently kiss her girlfriend. “Go get your footlocker then, _shenzi._ I’ll see you at home.”

\---------------------------------------

That afternoon, after a relatively normal morning of ships drills, combat drills on the range in the cargo hold and some time in the gym, Shepard and Ashley retired to their quarters to start planning the assault on Cerberus' Binthu research stations. The pair sat on opposite sides of the desk, each reviewing what little information they'd been able to glean about the planet from survey reports, planetary scans and the little data available to them from the Spectre archives. "Okay Ash," Shepard said with a smile, "you want to learn how to plan an op like an officer, so let’s hear it. What have we got to work with and how would you go about it?" Ashley gave the commander a slight smile then straightened in her chair, taking her time to think about all the intel they had at their disposal. "Well, Binthu is the second planet out in the Yangtze system, with a primarily carbon dioxide atmosphere. There's also a permanent haze of toxic chlorine and clouds of sulphur dioxide that periodically drop torrents of acidic rain onto the surface. Its crust is mainly composed of sulphur with deposits of calcium... so it's definitely a hostile world. We'll need to refit the Mako with environment filters before we drop to the surface, as well as ensure the ground team's hard suits have the correct enviro-filters." Shepard nodded, pleased with her lieutenant's assessment so far. "There seem to be four main stations... about equidistant apart. I'd take the westernmost station first, it's hidden in a valley so I'd expect communications to be difficult in that area, especially given the levels of ferrite deposits in the surrounding mountains. Knowing its Cerberus we can probably expect resistance too..." She paused to think it over, trying to predict what defences the former black ops division might have in place. "If I was defending those stations I'd have heavy turrets at each station along with sniper units on over watch and a reactionary force of commandos." She looked to Shepard, a little unsure of herself, but the commander only nodded in agreement; encouraging Ash to complete her planning. "Once inside I'd move fast to take down communications and eliminate any hostile forces before assessing the station for intel. After that... I'd blitzkrieg the other three, moving north first and staying out of visual and behind these mountains to inhibit any ground scanners they might have. Hit the bases hard and fast in a clockwise motion, clear them and move on."

Erisa grinned and nodded. "Well done, Ash. I couldn't have planned it better myself. Squad selection?" Ashley thought it over and arrived at her pick quickly. "You, myself and Wrex. We've got the Mako to take care of outdoor encounters, but the heavy fighting will be inside the bases. Research techs will have key cards so hacking isn't a priority. Rooting out an entrenched defensive force will need firepower, not tech skills; that means Wrex and me. Your infiltrator skills back us up nicely with long range firepower and quick, invisible flanking to eliminate any dug in troops."  

Sitting at her desk across from Ashley, Shepard smiled warmly, "Good picks too. Wrex gives us some biotic back up and I've got the training to handle any technical issues we might encounter. Well done, LT." She was about to suggest they break for an early dinner when the comm line pinged, Joker was calling. "Message coming in. Patching it through."

By the grizzled voice that followed she could tell without thinking it was Admiral Hackett, the man in charge of Fifth Fleet. "I've received some information I thought you'd want to see, Commander. Someone is killing former Alliance scientists. There have been four deaths in the past month."

Her eyes narrowed at the news and Ashley raised a querying brow in interest as Shepard spoke, a suspicious tone in her voice. "Former Alliance hm? Sounds like someone has a project they'd like to keep secret."

Hackett didn't disagree with her immediately, so the commander remained sceptical. "You could be right, Commander. We found a connection between the scientists... and you.  They all worked on a classified project several years ago. On Akuze."

That got her full attention and she began to suspect there was far more to Cerberus' involvement on Binthu than they'd thought. "Akuze... I lost my whole unit there, the last mission of the 323rd. You're saying our scientists were involved?"

An uncomfortable silence hung in the air a moment before the Admiral had to admit there wasn't much to go on. "I can't get any information on what they were working on. The project records are sealed. Commander... Shepard. What you do with this is up to you. I just thought you'd want to know. There was one other scientist on the project: a Doctor Wayne. I'm transmitting his last known coordinates. Good luck. Fifth Fleet out."

Shepard confirmed receipt of the coordinates and signed off with the Admiral. When she checked them, it didn't surprise her in the least to discover they matched the location Kahoku had given them. "God damn it..."

Ashley got out of her chair and walked around to stand behind Shepard, leaning over to look at the new data; idly slipping her arms around Erisa's shoulders as she did so. "They match. Looks like Cerberus was involved with Akuze. You going to be okay, sweetie?"

Shepard's face grew dark and cold, her eyes filling with the kind of cold hatred Ashley hadn't seen in them before. "I'll be fine. Save your prayers for whomever we find down there. A Reckoning is coming; and with it justice that's way past due."

The icy vehemence and barely concealed promise of death in her voice sent a chill down Ash's spine. It scared her, and she felt nothing but pity for the poor souls they were hunting.

The next morning the Normandy red shifted out of FTL and Joker smoothly manoeuvred the starship into geosynchronous orbit above Binthu. Further planetary scans only served to confirm what they'd already suspected and within the hour, Shepard, Wrex and Ashley dropped in the Mako; passing through the toxic atmosphere and landing heavily in a lush, green valley. Wrex had the gunner's chair on this run and was already running weapons checks as Ashley scanned their surroundings. "High CO2, chlorine and sulphur dioxide are registering at toxic levels... and I'm not picking up any native fauna, just local flora. Mostly stuff that's adapted to chlorine and sulphur. This is the place alright, Skipper." Shepard nodded and gunned the engine on the Mako, turning them towards the west and the hidden gully where their primary target was positioned. "How're weps looking, big guy?" she asked. Wrex just grinned. "Green across the board, Shepard. Let's go kill something."

It was only a short drive to skirt the mountain range and approach from the south, and as they did, Ashley's initial evaluation of their defences proved accurate as they came under fire from snipers positioned on over watch and rocket barrages from the installation's heavy turrets. It took some smart driving from Shepard to avoid the incoming fire; staying below ridges and gunning the Mako forward just long enough for Wrex to draw a bead on the sniper's location and send up a 40mm airburst fragmentation shell that killed most of them and scattered the survivors; flushing them from cover for Ash to cut down at range with the Mako's .50 cal. The turrets were a little trickier and they had to play cat and mouse with them; rocking back and forth out of cover and raining heavy shells down on them intermittently to prevent the two automated defence systems from acquiring missile lock. Still, after some clever driving and pinpoint artillery practice, the way was clear and the Normandy's APC roared across the landscape to disgorge its troops outside the underground facility's entrance.

Stepping out of the Mako, Shepard motioned to Ashley to take point, with Wrex backing her up while she herself covered the rear. This time Ash had swapped out her Valkyrie for the heavier M76 Revenant light machinegun, but Wrex was still toting his trusty Eviscerator and Erisa carried her twin Hurricanes. There would be little call for sniping inside an underground facility and with her dual load out of disruptors and shredders she was equipped to take down whatever they came across. As the lift finished its descent, Alpha squad swept out into a short corridor and breached the first room without resistance. A quick search turned up no hostiles, but several lockers filled with decent upgrades that they tucked into their combat harnesses after Shepard quickly and professionally decrypted their locking mechanisms. When they approached the next corridor however, their scanners began to ping. "Registering hostiles ahead ma'am," Ashley warned. "Bio signs indicate organics, probably commandos and lab techs." Shepard's eyes were cold and hard, like glittering diamonds in a coal face. "They're Cerberus. Terminate with extreme prejudice." From behind them, Wrex just chuckled slowly, the sound somewhat akin to tectonic plates grinding together. "Heh heh heh... you got it, boss."

Knowing that by now the reactionary commandos would be expecting them, they breached the doors and tossed in flash bangs; hoping to disorientate and stun anyone with weapons trained on their entry point. The visors on their own M3 tactical helmets darkened and the audio cut out as soon as the flash bangs went off, but by the time they stormed through the doorway, their helmets had reset. The room was unlike anything they had encountered before, a huge open space with a single pen in the centre surrounded by kinetic barriers and the walls of the massive space were lined with diagnostic equipment and computer banks of all kinds. Behind the shimmering blue curtains they could see movement, but little else, and Shepard quickly refocused her squad's attention. "LT, Wrex; flank right! Take 'em down!" Orders given, the squad split and Shepard cloaked before heading up the left. Ashley's Revenant burst into life as she made first contact; the light machinegun's incredible rate of fire dropping the kinetic barriers of the first two Cerberus commandos she encountered, providing Wrex with the perfect opening and two booming reports from his Eviscerator made the din in the huge room almost deafening as he blasted the commandos to pieces. On the left, Shepard skirted along the wall and quickly killed another two, her Hurricanes spitting death into their unsuspecting flanks; disruptors penetrating their shields before shredders ripped through armour and flesh alike. It didn't take long for the highly trained Normandy squad to clear the room and they took only minimal damage; mostly to their barriers, though a lucky shot had breached Wrex's armour and taken him in the left side, blood staining the outside of his hard suit. It didn't slow him up much, his body's incredible regenerative capabilities already working on sealing the wound. Out of targets, Shepard raised her voice and called out, "Clear!", only to be met by two similar responses that let her know they were done here. Now she could turn her attention to the barrier-enclosed pen and she stepped up to a diagnostic station and deftly hacked into its OS, getting a readout on what was contained within. She shuddered and bit off a Sotho curse as she read the holoscreen. "Thorian creepers... how the hell did Cerberus get hold of these creepy things?" Wrex grunted one of his usual, blunt replies. "Does it matter?" he pulled out an incendiary grenade and hefted it. "I got the cure to what ails 'em right here." Erisa could only smirk at his answer and she nodded. Accessing barrier controls, she briefly took one down and the big krogan armed the grenade then lobbed it into the pen and Shepard raised the barrier before the creepers even got near it. A loud 'pop' went off and the inside of the pen was suddenly filled with a fire storm, setting the plant-based automatons ablaze. Ashley grinned and shouldered her Revenant after slamming in a fresh thermal. "One down, Skipper. Three to go."

The next two installations; one to the north, the other to the east, were much the same and their established tactics cleared out the external defences before they stormed each facility and shut down the Cerberus operations permanently. The northernmost base had a Rachni soldier in its barrier pen, easily dispatched by concentrated fire from the Revenant and Hurricanes, and the eastern labs held a pen full of Rachni hatchlings that Wrex took great delight in simply stomping to death. Sadly, it was where they also found the body of Rear Admiral Kahoku. "Damn it," Shepard swore, "they must have caught up to him. Ash, help me prep his body for transport. We can't leave him here; he deserves a burial as befitted his station. Any officer willing to go to the lengths he did for his men, has my respect." While Wrex scavenged for further salvage, the two marines saw to the admiral's body and Ashley discovered something curious. "Commander, look. Needle marks. I'm not seeing any bites from the Rachni hatchlings either... I don't think they put him in here to kill him, they were just disposing of his body." Shepard's lips curled into a snarl. "Bastards... You're right Ash; they would have interrogated him first, looking for intel on who gave him their position." She shook her head sadly and folded the admiral's hands over his chest. "I'm sorry I didn't get here in time, sir. But we'll kill every last one of these Cerberus bastards, I promise you that much. They'll pay for what happened to your marines, and for what they did to you. You have my word on that." Finding a body bag amongst the supplies, they respectfully disposed of Kahoku's earthly remains; taking his body back to the Mako for eventual return to the Alliance. There was only one more station to go.

The southern installation however, proved to be a very different kettle of fish. As they approached they read none of the bio signs they expected, and as they crested a ridge, they could see smoke rising from the ruined turrets and signs of rocket impacts scattered the nearby skyline and hilltops. An old M29, battered but still serviceable, was parked near the entrance. "Looks like we have an outside player here, people. Stay on your toes. Either someone else has a beef with Cerberus or they're raiders looking for a soft target like a science station." Shepard approached the station with a good deal of caution, skirting the perimeter and making sure they weren't walking into a trap before eventually pulling up to the facility proper. Once they were out of the Mako, she checked the Grizzly already parked there. "No identifying insignias... could be pirates, maybe mercs." She held up a hand to the engine cover at the back. "Power systems are still warm, they haven't been here long. Proceed with caution folks; we could have potential allies inside." Once they moved into the facility itself however, all they found were bodies and signs of an intense firefight. There were dead Cerberus commandos littering the choke points whilst what looked like the corpses of professional mercenaries lay in the more open areas; casualties of a strong push deep into the enemy stronghold. The deeper they moved into the eerily deserted research station, the fewer bodies, of either side, they found until at last they came to the final room.

Sweeping into that last room of the underground Cerberus base, Alpha squad maintained a professional cover formation, with Ashley and Wrex watching the flanks as Shepard focused on their front; but when they moved around the last corner, they came to a halt. Like with most of the base, there were dead Cerberus troops littering the room, and only two figures remained upright. One was a scientist, dressed in a lab smock with its Cerberus insignia and the other was a heavily armoured mercenary; his Phalanx pistol aimed directly at the head of whom Shepard could only assume was the missing Doctor Wayne. The merc had a wild look in the eyes behind his visor and his hand went for another pistol, pointing the weapon at Shepard as they entered his line of sight. "Stay back! I've got no grief with you! All I want is this bastard!"

Weapons were raised on all sides then, as Alpha squad drew a bead on the imminent threat of the armed mercenary. Doctor Wayne's face flooded with relief at the arrival of heavily armed troops not on his captor's side and he began to plead with Shepard and her squad. "Please! He's a madman!" Soon though, his focus returned to the man holding his life hostage. "Mr Toombs, you're insane! You need help!"

His words only seemed to enrage the mercenary though, and the lone gunman thrust the pistol towards the doctor even more aggressively. "Corporal! My name is Corporal Toombs! Now shut up! You don't get to lie, not today! You don't..." The fire that filled his eyes seemed to dim as he peered closer at the commander, and the gunman's familiar face registered shock for a moment; leaving Wayne forgotten. "Shepard? My god, Shepard, is that you?"

The familiar face finally clicked with Erisa and her voice filled with the same shock, her heart spiking as she realised who she was looking at. "Toombs? But you were on Akuze! Mack said he saw one of the thresher maws pull you under!"

She motioned for her squad to lower their weapons. Her former corporal was almost moved to tears at the sight of his old commander, but his voice filled with rage and indignation. "They took me, Shepard. The scientists."

Doctor Wayne could see things weren't working out in his favour after all and he tried a last ditch attempt to sway the commander to his side. "You can't prove any of this! This man is delusional!"

Toombs backhanded the doctor with the barrel of his weapon, sending the scientist reeling with a bloodied nose, and began to tell Shepard his story. "See, they were running tests on the thresher maws. They let those things hit that survey and pioneering team just to watch and study; and when they weren't enough... they did the same to us! I don't know how I lived; but I woke up in a holding cell. The scientists were delighted I'd survived. Now they had someone to run tests on."

Shepard's eyes narrowed and she raised her Hurricane again, this time levelled squarely at the doctor. Her voice was soft as she asked, "What the hell did they do to you, Toombs?"

Wayne, clutching his bleeding nose, pointed at the Corporal in desperation. "You can't believe Toombs! He doesn't have any proof! I demand a fair trial!"

The corporal just sneered at the doctor, almost screaming at him in triumph. "She was there, you bastard! She knows the truth!"

For her part, Shepard had to fight for control as every instinct screamed at her to put a bullet; no, a dozen bullets into Doctor Wayne right there and then. Instead, she took a deep breath and forced her finger away from the trigger. Her voice though, was filled with nothing but naked contempt and raw hatred. "Corporal Toombs served faithfully and vigilantly under my command for years, you god damned _mkundu_! We fought side by side on Akuze!  I watched my entire platoon get torn to pieces or burn to death with acid! He says you were involved, then you were involved." She took a step closer to him, beginning to shake with rage. "We lost good men and women because you bastards wanted to study fucking maws? Here then," she said, tearing off her left glove and thrusting her hand into the doctor's face, "take a good fucking look! This is what their acid does to bare flesh!"

Toombs could only nod vehemently before he continued. "They treated me like a lab animal. Have you ever felt thresher maw acid running through your veins? I have." He paused as he saw the acid scarring covering Erisa's exposed hand and nodded grimly. "I guess you have too. I only escaped thanks to a containment breach on one of their other experiments back on Nodacrux, and I've been hunting the bastards responsible ever since." He looked Wayne up and down contemptuously. "This man deserves to die, Shepard. For Ramone and Pikowski, for Vasquez and Prasad, for everyone else in the 323rd. Are you with me?"

Shepard looked over to her old comrade and nodded once before glancing over her shoulder at her squad. "Everyone out. Now." Ashley hesitated at the order. It was pretty obvious what was going to happen next and although she agreed that Wayne probably deserved to die; she didn't want to see it stain the soul of the woman she loved. But she didn't get the chance to speak up, as Shepard cast her an adamant look. "You too, Ash; you don't want to see what's about to happen." _I don't want you to see this,_ mndani _, please understand, I need to do this. Not just for me, but for my dead._ "This is personal... it's time I, _we_ , laid some ghosts to rest."

Ashley gave up and nodded sadly, her eyes filling with unhappy disappointment as she turned away from Erisa and followed Wrex out of the room.

With it obvious that he was a dead man, the last of the scientists responsible for Akuze began to weep, begging with the last survivors of his experiments with a snivelling voice. "Commander... Mr Toombs... please... we had no choice!"

Giving him a flat look that spoke of nothing but pain and death, Shepard kicked his feet out from under him, sending him to the floor. "Get on your damn knees, you piece of shit. You don't deserve to die standing." Her voice was a cold hiss, like that of a snake about to strike. "You can thank whatever god you like that we don't have a maw handy right now, or I'd goddamn well feed you to it, piece by stinking piece."

Standing outside the closed doors, Wrex and Ashley could only look at one another uncomfortably as muffled screams and whimpers filled the air for what seemed like an eternity; until finally there was only a heavy silence. The doors swished open again at last, and the last two members of the once mighty 323rd stepped out of the room. Ruby blood spattered their hard suits, and Shepard was cleaning an inordinate amount of it off of her gloves and forearms with what looked like a swatch of the doctor's smock. "Head back to the Mako and prep her for pick up, LT. Call in the Normandy." She couldn't look Ashley in the eyes as she gave the order though, and for once, Ashley didn't want her to. The brunette knew they were going to argue about this one; their first real fight would be over a cold blooded murder. Not trusting herself to keep a civil tongue just yet, Ash nodded in confirmation and led Wrex out of the complex. Left standing there with Toombs, Shepard looked over to him to see how he was doing.

The corporal was suffused with what she could only call an aura of peace, and his voice wasn't exultant, but relieved when he spoke. "We did it. We avenged them, Shepard. The Wolverines can finally rest in peace. I can finally let go."

He took a deep breath and looked down at the heavy pistol still in his hand, contemplating what to do next. Giving her a soft smile, he hefted it, feeling the weight before he spoke. "The vids say you were the sole survivor of what happened at Akuze. Who am I to argue?" Swiftly he lifted the Phalanx and placed the barrel under his chin, but Shepard was too quick for him, and knocked it aside with a swift slap milliseconds before he pulled the trigger, sending the round into the ceiling instead of his brainpan. A cold fury overtook her and she bore holes in him with eyes like diamonds as she suddenly bellowed at him in her best D.I. voice. "Ten Hut!"

Toombs didn't move, or say anything, just looked at her; defeat in his eyes. He'd thought revenge would bring him peace, but it had only left him feeling... empty.

Shepard wasn't giving up though, and redoubled her efforts. "Goddamn it Corporal, I said Ten Hut!"

"I'm not a marine anymore, Shepard," he said in a quiet, subdued tone. "Corporal Toombs died on Akuze with the rest of them."

A vicious snarl erupted from Shepard's throat, and despite her being several inches shorter than Toombs, she managed to loom over him with her sheer presence. "What on God's green earth did you just say, marine? Was that a brain fart? I do not need some NCO's brain fart stinking up my personal space!" She was in fine fettle now, her voice echoing off the walls as she bore down on him. "Now sound off! Name, rank and serial number!"

Despite his best efforts, the snarling voice and heavy Afrikaans accent snapped him to attention almost reflexively, the years dropping away as her presence saw the past come flooding forward and he found his voice. "Toombs, Richard C. Corporal, Alliance Marine Corps, serial number 701-323-64. Ma'am!"

Erisa sneered at him a little and applauded sarcastically. "Outstanding, marine, you can remember your own fucking name. Now, who the hell am I?"

The sound of that sarcastic, mocking voice coming out of the small, dark skinned woman in front of him brought a smile he'd long thought impossible to Toomb's face. "Lieutenant Shepard, commanding officer 1st platoon, 323rd marine regiment! ma'am!"

"And what are you?" She bellowed.

There was only one right answer, and the Corporal yelled it back at her as loud as he could, stiff as a board at attention. "I'm a god damned Howling Wolverine! 323rd, pride of the motherfucking Corps!"

Shepard clapped him on the shoulder and her sneer turned into the wolfish grin he remembered so well. "Well Hoo-rah, marine." Letting him drop to 'at ease' she paced around him. "Now listen up soldier. There's a war coming. We got us a bunch of giant killer squidbots out there somewhere who think they can just roll on in to our galaxy and wipe us all out. So tell me, Corporal, in your professional opinion, what does a Howling Wolverine say to that?"

He grinned. "Over my dead body, ma'am!"

She nodded once, a smirk in her eyes. "Damn right. We might have lost a lot of good men on Akuze, but we're not the only Wolverines still kickin'. So I got a job for you, _Sergeant_ Toombs. You go back out there and you pull the 323 rd back together. Anyone who was ever a Wolverine, past or present, you find 'em and whip them into shape, you hear me? You beg, borrow or steal whatever you need and you get us back in the fight! Cause the day's coming when the galaxy's gonna need survivors like us, and when that call comes, the Howling Wolverines _will_ stand up and be counted. You get me, marine?"

"I get you, ma'am!" he said, sounding off, once more the soldier he used to be. Looking at Shepard, gratitude in his eyes, he smiled. "Thank you, Commander," he said, finally noting the new rank insignia on her hard suit. "You know, I thought today would be the end of it all; that I could rest at last. But you're right, a devil dog's work is never done. You can count on me, Shepard. I'll find whoever's left... and when you need us, just call."

Shepard returned the smile and rested a hand on the bigger man's shoulder. "You're welcome Sergeant. Akuze may have made us who we are now, but we don't have to let it define us. Remember that."

Toombs nodded as he made his farewells. He'd come to Binthu to set the past right then join the 323rd in death. Instead, he was leaving with a new purpose. To oversee their rebirth. "I will. Semper Fi, Shepard. Good Luck out there."

"You too, Toombs. You too."

\---------------------------------------

As soon as they were back onboard the Normandy, Shepard commed the bridge from the elevator. "We're done here, Moreau. Point us at the Citadel..."

"Best speed," he answered, a smirk in his voice. "You got it, Commander." She shook her head and let slip a wry smile. "Smart ass. Just get us there, Joker."

Stepping out of the elevator onto the crew deck, she made for her quarters, Ash close on her heels. Ashley had stayed quiet the entire trip back to the Normandy, remaining close-lipped until she and Erisa were finally in their quarters. As the door closed behind them, she couldn't contain it any longer and turned on Shepard, cold accusation in her voice. "You tortured him, didn't you? That scientist who was involved with Akuze. You tortured and murdered him." She slammed her weapons down on the desk for extra effect then started unbuckling her hard suit, fuming as she glared at Erisa.

Shepard stayed calm though and, true to the promise she'd made on Noveria, told Ashley the truth; plain and unvarnished. "Yes. Yes I did. And believe me, he deserved far worse than what I did to him." There wasn't even a trace of remorse in her voice. "I'm not going to apologise for this one, Ash. I don't have an ounce of guilt or remorse for what I did down there. The blood of nearly eighty men and women, fifty of them my marines, was on his hands; they were practically dripping with it. I wasn't going to turn him over to some Alliance court so he could cut a deal with whatever he knew about Cerberus and get off scot-free. You don't get to do what he did and then walk away." She had already deposited her weapons on the desk beside Ashley's and had half of her hard suit off. "That's politics, not justice; and my men deserved justice. I just made sure they got it." Drawing herself up and facing Ashley's anger and disappointment head on, she did her best to keep her cool during their first fight as a couple. "Besides, can you look me in the eye and tell me you wouldn't do the same thing to Saren if you had the chance? Could you stomach watching him give the Council some story about indoctrination and then just accept it as they let him walk away, the blood of the 212 washed off his hands because some politicians said so?"

Ashley scowled at her, arms folded across her chest; hurt that Erisa would throw the 212 back in her face like that. "That's not fair, Erisa. It's not the same thing. You made it personal and went above the law."

Erisa had to bite her tongue not to bring up the fact that as a Spectre she _was_ above the law. Instead, she tried to shut down the argument with logic. "It is the same, and you know it. That's why you're not putting up much of a fight about thi..." The combination of hurt, disappointment and a little disillusionment on Ashley's face punctured her own argument though, and she sighed, holding up her hands in surrender after depositing the last of her hard suit on the desk. "I'm sorry, Ash. I shouldn't have said that, and I shouldn't have used the 212 to try and justify what I did. That was cruel." She gave the woman she loved the best apologetic look she could muster. "I hate it when we fight, _mndani_. I am sorry you were there, I can give you that much. I know how much you dislike my darker side; I didn't mean to drag it out into the light around you." 

“Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

 

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud,

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

 

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

 

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.”

 

Ashley's face softened as she listened to Erisa recite Invictus, and she shook her head, a fondness creeping back into her eyes and curling her lips faintly. "Oh now you're just cheating."

Erisa faked a perfect look of innocence. "What?"

Dropping the last pieces of her own hard suit into the corner of the ready room, Ashley poked out her tongue at her girlfriend. "It's against the rules to get all poetic and soulful on me when I'm trying to be mad at you. You know what it does to me when you do that."

Shepard gave a wry smile and slowly approached Ash. "Did it work?"

The pair were both dressed only in their tight and somewhat revealing pressure suits now, and Ashley slipped an arm about Shepard's waist, pulling her in close until the pair were pressed tightly together. Gently, she kissed Erisa for a long moment before resting her forehead against Erisa's. "What do you think?"

Shepard smiled and let her hands slide down Ash's back to rest on the curve of her ass. "You know I love you, right?"

Ashley nodded and started to slowly run her fingers up and down Erisa's spine, sending tingles through the commander's body. "I know. And I love you too. Even the bits of you I don't particularly like."

That got a smirk out of Shepard and she cocked an eyebrow. "Does that mean there are parts of me you _do_ particularly like?"

Laughing softly, Ash let her hands slide down over Erisa's ass then picked her up; a sudden hunger igniting in her. Erisa wrapped her legs about Ashley's waist and clung to the taller woman's shoulders; one arm wrapped about them as the other went to the zip at the front of Ash's pressure suit; slowly lowering it as their lips met in a long, deep kiss. Tongues probed back and forth, duelling, and Ashley pressed Erisa's back up against the bulkhead as she fumbled at the fastenings on Shepard's pressure suit. Breaking the kiss, Erisa swept a pink tongue over her girlfriend's lips and whispered huskily. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Less talk, more kissing," Ash growled hungrily. Erisa laughed lightly at that and complied, bending her head down into another fierce, consuming kiss as Ashley finished unzipping her pressure suit. A porcelain hand slid over taut, nubian skin and fingernails trailed up over tights abs before finally closing around a pert breast, fingertips lightly rolling and caressing a dark nipple into a hard point. The kiss broke and Ashley leant forward, running a hot tongue down Shepard's neck that left a damp trail to her breasts; lips engulfing her other nipple. Erisa threw her head back and moaned sweetly, losing herself in Ashley's ministrations; feeling that hot tongue and those nimble fingers alternately toying with her breasts as she felt her core start to dampen. With her thighs clamped about Ash's waist, her ankles locked just above her lover's ass, Erisa pulled out a hairpin and shook loose Ashley's long brunette tresses; tangling one hand in them whilst the other slid down a pale torso, pausing only briefly to knead full breasts and brush over pink nipples. As her lover shuddered at the caresses, Shepard's hand slid lower, down over tight, toned abs before slipping beneath the waistband of her pressure leggings. Diving deep, her fingertips wormed their way beneath damp cotton panties and found Ashley's nub. She stroked it gently, teasing at it until she heard, and felt, a deep muffled groan against her chest; her back sliding down the bulkhead as Ash's knees buckled a little. Grinning evilly, she slid her questing fingers lower, curling them up before guiding them deep inside Ashley, plunging in and out slowly. Erisa's grin slipped off her face, a heavy moan replacing it as she felt teeth lightly grazing a hard nipple and the fingers of Ash's other hand suddenly applied a direct pressure to her own core, through her leggings. Yanking Ashley's head up with the fingers tangled in her brunette hair, Erisa kissed her ferociously, biting her lover's lower lip softly before she hoarsely croaked out two words: "Bed. Now."

Ashley could only nod, Erisa's fingers were driving her wild and she could feel them caressing her in the most intimate places as she walked them the short distance to the bedroom; every step dragging either a moan or a pant from between her lips. Reaching the bed, she turned and collapsed back onto the mattress, Erisa's weight driving them into the springs. In a flash, Erisa was sitting up, her hips grinding into Ash's lasciviously and both women hurriedly stripped off their pressure suit jackets. This wasn't going to be slow and gentle lovemaking, but a rough fuck, that much was patently clear. Fumbling hands undid the buckles and zips at each other's waists before Erisa leant down, bathing Ashley's breasts and pointed pink nipples with her tongue, lapping at the brunette's sweaty skin. With gentle bites, she moved lower and lower, tracing Ash's defined abs with her tongue until she slipped between her love's thighs and, grasping the waistband of her pressure leggings, stripped them off in one neat jerk and tug. Ashley's eyes rolled back in her head and a fevered groan escaped her lips as the sheets bunched in her fists when she felt Erisa's mouth envelop her core; fingers delving deep between her folds yet again. A questing tongue began to probe and explore and Shepard moaned sweetly to herself at her first taste of Ashley's dew; instantly hooked. Nothing she'd ever tasted, or would ever taste again, would ever be as good as what she had now. With the fingers from one alabaster hand tangling in her thick black pixie cut, Erisa raked her nails down Ashley's thighs and the tip of her tongue began to circle a hard, pink little nub, coaxing it out from under its hood to where it could be lapped at hungrily. Keening noises started to come from Ashley; her muscles tensing and she started to direct Shepard's eager efforts. "Hmmm, mmm, lower! L-left a bit..." Erisa followed her guide and was rewarded with a low, husky moan. "Oh god... riiiiiight there, yeah.... hnnnh, HNNNH!!"

Ash came with all the intensity of a dam bursting its walls and she thrashed about on the bed, babbling nonsense as a hot tongue gently coaxed her through the apex of her climax and down the other side, until eventually the sensations were too much and she tugged at Shepard's shoulders feebly. Slowly, like a snake uncoiling, Erisa slithered her way back up Ashley's body until the two women could kiss again, trading soft, intimate exchanges of passion. Eventually Ashley felt her strength returning, and she switched positions, rolling Erisa over onto her back. She looked down at the nubian goddess she'd fallen in love with only weeks ago and smiled like the cat that got the cream. "Mmm, my god that was good... your turn now." Her face disappeared from view a few seconds as her body slid lower, but it was back in a second, a naughty grin on those full lips and a hungry look in her eyes. She certainly wasn't lacking for confidence despite her relative newness to same-gender sex. "Don't worry skipper..." she whispered lovingly, "this might be my first time, but I'm pretty sure I can figure it out. I happen to have an _excellent_ teacher."  Shepard could only drop her head back onto the mattress and surrender to what was coming as Ashley’s tongue and fingers began to explore. Her last conscious thought before losing herself in further passion with Ash was _My god, if this is the makeup sex; we need to fight more often..._


	27. Renegades and Mutineers

The Normandy docked at the Citadel right on schedule, and now, Udina, Shepard and her team stood together in the Citadel chambers, ready to address the Council. Shepard was hoping that for once the Council would listen to her and expected a quick turnaround, so before she left the ship she had ordered Garrus, her by now _de facto_ XO, to keep everyone on board and to have the ship ready to fly as soon as they got their orders. As the Council assembled, Ambassador Udina looked to the commander and spoke, "Good job, Shepard. Thanks to you, the Council's finally taking real action against Saren."

The Asari Councillor, Tevos responded, "The Ambassador is correct. If Saren is foolish enough to attack the Citadel...as you believe...we will be ready for him."

The Turian Councillor, Sparatus, continued the announcement, "Patrols are stationed at every mass relay linking Citadel space to the Terminus Systems."

Shepard was starting to feel uneasy, as no mention of the fleet to go to Ilos had yet been mentioned, and time was of the essence. "You think a blockade is going to stop him? He could be on Ilos looking for the Conduit right now. If he succeeds in bringing the Reapers back from wherever they’ve been hiding for the last fifty thousand years, protecting the Citadel isn’t going to mean squat! What are we doing about that?"

The Salarian Councillor, Valern, confirmed the commander's worst fears when he stated, "As you well know, Ilos is only accessible through the newly rediscovered Mu Relay, deep inside the Terminus Systems, Commander. If we send a fleet in there, the only possible outcome is full-scale war."

Udina again faced the commander, his tone condescending. “Now is the time for discretion, Commander. Saren’s greatest weapon was secrecy. Exposed, he is no longer a threat. This is over.”  The Commander could only snarl at that, fighting hard not to let her low opinion of the Council show. “If Saren finds the Conduit we’re all screwed, no matter the countermeasures you think you have in place! We _have_ to go to Ilos!”

Sparatus gave the Commander a smug, superior look before he addressed Earth’s representative. “Ambassador Udina, I get the sense Commander Shepard isn’t willing to let this go.” Nodding in almost gleeful agreement, Udina gave Shepard another pretentious look. “There are serious political implications here, Shepard. Humanity’s made great gains thanks to you. But now you’re becoming more trouble than you’re worth.”

Ashley gave the ambassador a withering look. “You bastard! You’re selling us out!” Her only reply was a contemptuous stare from the politician. “It’s just politics, Commander. You’ve done your job, now let me do mine. We’ve locked out the Normandy’s primary systems. Until further notice, you’re grounded.”

Shepard’s return stare was as cold as her voice. “Nobody stabs me in the back, Udina. Nobody. In case you’ve forgotten, I don’t answer to you in this matter; as a Spectre I answer _only_ to the Council.” Looking up at them, she hoped for some glimmer of trust in their faces; some sign that they’d let her finish what she’d started, but all she got were evasive looks. They clearly expected her to slink off like a whipped dog and let them handle it their way. Shepard felt her gut drop out from under her; it was becoming all too clear that the Council still did not truly believe in the Conduit, or the Reapers. They were convinced it was all a story made up by Saren to gather the Geth army to his cause, that it was merely a distraction from his real plan to attack the Citadel. Shepard couldn't believe they could be so wilfully ignorant and not even raising the unanswered questions surrounding Sovereign; the incredibly advanced dreadnought they witnessed on Eden Prime, the hologram warning on Virmire, and finally, the warnings of Matriarch Benezia; made any difference. The Council members were not going to be swayed from their decision. In the end, all Shepard could do was grit her teeth in wintry silence, her eyes blazing with rage as she stared at each of the Council members. In a satisfied, patronising voice, Udina delivered his coup de grace. “I think it’s time for you and your team to leave, Commander. This no longer concerns you. The Council can handle this. With my help; of course.”

Shepard shook her head and stared at Udina and the councillors, "Pray to whichever Gods you worship, Councillors. Pray that you’re right and I’m wrong. Because if I’m not... you’ve just killed us all.” Her face was now a stone cold mask; like that of some great onyx statue devoid of emotion, and she spun on her heels and retreated from the Council Chambers, heading down to the gardens on the lower tier.

Coming to stand beneath that great skylight again, Shepard gazed up into the purple and pink nebula, but she could no longer see its beauty; only a fog that clouded the way forward and hid an uncertain future from her. Ashley stepped up beside her, her quiet, reassuring presence a small comfort, and when she spoke, it was in a soft voice that tried to tease some emotion back out of Shepard’s stony facade. “I hate being right.”

Resting her hands on the railing that surrounded the blossoming cherry trees that occupied the Citadel Tower’s gardens, Erisa shook her head and tore her eyes away from the nebula. “I just wish I could say I was surprised.”

Ash very gently rested a hand over Erisa’s, and was pleased when Shepard moved to gently squeeze her fingers. That was a good sign. “I was surprised Udina bought into it. I guess he’s like any other politician. The Council is used to being the biggest kid in the playground. They don’t want to believe Daddy is coming to pick them up. And eat them, I guess.” The unusual twist at the end of the metaphor drew a faint smirk from Shepard and she straightened, shaking off her doubts.

“I don’t care if I have to go through the Council. I _won’t_ let Sovereign win.”

Smiling as she saw Erisa’s fire come back, as strong and indomitable as ever, Ash had to resist the urge to close the distance between them and kiss her. “That’s the spirit, Skipper. Whatever you come up with, you can count me in.”

Nodding, Erisa spared a moment to let the smile she kept just for Ash shine through, before she turned to lead the pair towards the rapid transit station. There was nothing else to do but head back to the Normandy and come up with some kind of desperate plan; one that would no doubt see them attempt the foolish and impossible. Waiting for a sky car back to the docking bay, Shepard was surprised to see Liara emerge from the station, and noticing them, the Asari hurried over to meet her friends.

“Liara, what are you doing here?” Shepard asked curiously, “I ordered the team to remain aboard ship until our return.” The formerly shy archaeologist gave a guilty smile. “Garrus gave me permission to leave; for personal reasons, provided I brought you a message. Joker reports that the Normandy’s primary systems have been locked out by Citadel Control.”

Erisa could only nod and sigh in reply. “We’ve been grounded. The Council _thinks_ it has everything under control, but they’re still afraid I’m going to do something... reckless and insubordinate. So they’ve put the ship into lockdown.” Liara gave her friend a moment’s study and smiled dryly. “Which of course is exactly what you’ll do.” She smirked softly. “I’m afraid once someone gets to know you, your reactions are fairly predictable, Shepard.”  Ashley grinned from beside her and Shepard just rolled her eyes. “So sue me. What’s this personal business of yours, doc? Anything I can help with?”

Shaking her head sadly, the asari’s blue eyes clouded with grief for a moment and Shepard felt like a dolt. “Of course, sorry Li. Should have guessed it would be to do with your mother.” Liara nodded. “I have a meeting with Councillor Tevos; I hope to convince her that my mother was another one of Saren’s victims rather than a willing accomplice. I’m taking her all the evidence we have so far; everything we’ve learnt about indoctrination, a recording of the interview with Shiala, and copies of the helmet cam footage involving Benezia’s... passing. My hope is it’s enough to at least cast doubt on any attempts to charge her with treason.’ Liara drew herself up proudly. “The T’soni name is all I have left of her; I won’t see it tarnished unjustly.” The resolve and defiance was clear to hear in her young voice and Shepard smiled, patting her friend on the shoulder reassuringly. “I don’t doubt you’ll make a good case, Li. Just make sure you report back to the Normandy once you’re done. I don’t know what we’re going to do yet... but when it comes to me, it’s likely we’ll have to move fast.” With a nod of agreement, they went their separate ways again; Liara to defend her mother’s honour and secure her rightful place as head of House T’soni whilst the two marines headed back to the ship to contemplate all manners of mischief and merry hell. Not that they had much time to think of any way to free the Normandy from its computer lockdown, for as soon as they were back onboard the ship, Joker piped on the comm, "Commander, I have a message for you from Captain Anderson. He asked you to meet him at a club in the Wards. It's called Flux."

Shepard looked at Ash briefly then nodded before replying, "We're on our way."

\-----------------------------

Shepard had never been to Flux before, but it seemed to be a pretty typical club and she remembered plenty of those from her younger days as a marine out on the prowl during leave. It almost made her smile, remembering the happier times when partying was something that actually mattered. Eyeing the dance floor as they passed by, Ashley sidled up closer and put her lips to Erisa’s ear. “If we weren’t on duty and hurrying to save the galaxy as we know it, I’d have to show you some of my dance moves...”

Shepard smirked and winked at Ashley as she responded. "It’s a date, _mndani_. First we save the galaxy, then we go clubbing.”

After a quick look around the club, they found Anderson sitting at a table by himself, so they sat down and joined him. He started speaking as soon as they arrived. "I'm glad you came, Shepard. I heard what happened. I wanted to warn you, but there was no way to get a message to you before you docked. I'm sorry."

Shepard shook her head in disgust. "Now I know how you felt. They pulled me off the mission, just like when they forced you to give up the Normandy."

Anderson leaned forward and spoke forcefully, "I know you're pissed off right now, but you can't give up. They all think this is over, but we both know it's not. You have to get to Ilos and stop Saren from using the Conduit!"

Shepard narrowed her eyes and she snorted as she responded, "You and I both know I’m not the type to quit, sir. But there's only one ship that can get us into the Terminus Systems undetected, and she's grounded. I’ve got my people working on a solution, but if you’ve got a suggestion, I’m all ears."

Anderson's eyes lit with mirth; that kind of insubordinate problem solving was exactly what he’d expected from his surrogate daughter. "Citadel control's locked out the Normandy’s systems, but if we override the ambassador's orders, we can get them to bring the Normandy back online. You can be in the Terminus Systems before anyone even knows you're gone."

Shepard sat back and though about the consequences; but in the face of what was coming they all seemed paltry compared to galactic extinction. "If we steal the Normandy, you’re the one left holding the bag. I can’t ask you to do that, sir.”

Anderson just smiled dryly. "Then it’s a good thing you’re not asking. If Saren finds the Conduit, life as we know it is over. The Reapers will destroy us. Humans, Asari, everybody! It's worth it, whatever the cost. You're the only one who can stop him, Shepard. So I'll do whatever it takes to get you on the Normandy and off this station!"

Shepard nodded, her one reservation neatly dealt with. Anderson meant too much to her for her to be able to ask him to commit treason, but she knew he was just as stubborn as she was; if he said he’d do it, they might as well take advantage of it. It was better than anything they’d come up with on their own so far. "What’s the plan?"

Anderson responded, "Ambassador Udina issued the lockdown order. If I can hack into the computer in his office, I may be able to rescind it."

Ashley frowned, "He's not gonna let you just waltz into his office and use his computer, sir."

Anderson had a glint in his eyes when he stated, "Hopefully he won't be there, but if he is, I'll just have to take care of it. I'll think of something."

It was Shepard’s turn to shake her head, not liking the idea so far. “Udina won’t let that slide, Anderson. You’ll be charged with treason, a capital offence. You’d lose your commission, your pension, everything.”

Anderson shook his head, resolute. "We don’t have a lot of options, Shepard. Either I break into the ambassador’s computer or I take my chances with the patrols in Citadel Control and terminate the lockdown from there.”

“No,” she said firmly, “That’s a secure area with armed patrols. You’ll have a better chance if you go after Udina’s terminal.”

He smiled almost wolfishly at that, and Ash recognised the expression; she’d seen it on Erisa’s face before. “I was hoping you’d say that. The ambassador has made this personal. So, you ready to get the hell off this station, Commander?"

Shepard grinned and stood, shaking Anderson’s hand firmly, hoping ferverently she’d see him again. "Let's do it!"

Anderson held the handshake, proud of her, "I'll take care of the lockdown. You get to the Normandy and tell Joker to stand by. I'm not sure how long it will stay open before someone catches it and locks you down again."

Shepard was already heading for the door, Ashley in tow. "No worries, Sir. Soon as that light goes green, we're ghosts."

\-----------------------------

Thirty minutes later, Shepard stood on the bridge of the Normandy with Joker, staring at the red docking control. When the light went green, Shepard gripped Joker's shoulder and said, "Let's go. Get us outta here, Joker. Now!" Joker smiled as he backed out of the docking space, and the self-proclaimed 'best damn pilot in the Alliance' soon had the Normandy spun around and gunned it toward the mass relay, using the nebula’s cloud banks as cover until they broke into open space. Shepard watched the Citadel fade in the distance with a grim look on her face.

Joker chuckled, "Aw, damn it. No sign of pursuit? I was hoping the Council would send some ships after us. I was looking forward to putting the Normandy through her paces. Figured I'd get to see what this ship can really do."

Shepard gave her pilot a serious look, just the hint of a smile at the edges of her lips despite the sarcasm in her voice. "We’re not playing tag, Joker. If they catch us, Saren wins... and we’re all dead.”

 Joker rolled his eyes to himself and mouthed a ‘wow’ she couldn’t see. “I bet you’re just the life of the party, aren’t you Commander."

Smiling playfully, she lightly smacked the back of his head. “Only when your bony ass ain’t there, Flight Lieutenant. You know where we’re goin’ so say it with me....” He grinned at that and looked up over his shoulder at her. “Point us at Ilos. Best speed,” they said in unison. “Alright, I'm going to walk the decks for a bit, then grab some down time. Just give me a shout before we get there. I want to be on the bridge when we hit the Mu Relay."

All business, Joker responded with a sharp, "Aye aye, Ma'am."

More than ever before, Shepard keenly felt the loss of Kaidan and his knowledge of the crew at moments like this. She wanted, no, _needed_ a feel for the mood of the crew; but she was the Ice Queen. The stern commander who was no one’s friend; the woman who kicked their asses when they needed kicking and left the praise to others. That was all she had to work with though, so she’d just have to make do and find some way for the Ice Queen to reach her subjects. As she stood in front of the galaxy map, looking out over the packed and busy Normandy CIC, she opened her omnitool, accessed the ship’s comm channel and went live.

“Normandy, this is the Commander.” She paused as she collected her thoughts; thinking of the great speeches and rousing poems she knew, but ultimately she went with her gut. “I know I’ve asked a lot of you all in the past, but never more than I knew each of you could give. And not once have you been found wanting, nor ever let me down. But this time... this time I’m asking you to go above anything you’ve ever done before; to answer a heroes’ call. I’m asking you to trust me, to stand with me, shoulder to shoulder, not as a commander and her crew; but as brothers while we commit what some; what most, would call treason. Know that we do this not for glory, nor for infamy, but in the fool’s hope that our honour is worth the sacrifice, to protect those who have not seen what we have from their own folly. We do this great and noble thing to prevent catastrophe and ensure that peace, and life, and love still have their places in this galaxy.” All across the Normandy, the ship had fallen still and quiet, ears and eyes cast upward to speakers that rang boldly with all of her conviction and courage, and in the CIC marines and sailors alike looked up at their commander with pride and wonder. “Even if we succeed, some may find the price too high a cost; be it our careers, our friends or at the utmost, our lives. So I put it to you now, every man and woman who sails ‘pon this fine ship...”

‘That he which hath no stomach to this fight,

Let him depart; his passport shall be made

And crowns for convoy put into his purse:

We would not die in that man's company

That fears his fellowship to die with us.

 

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers

For he today that sheds his blood with me

Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,

This day shall gentle his condition:

And gentlemen a-bed

Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,

And hold their manhoods cheap while any speaks

That fought with us...'

 

“Saren, Sovereign and a fleet of Geth lie before us; and at our back lie our kith and kin, who know not yet what we have done, nor what we must yet do to spare them from Death’s fell clutch. The die is cast and all must hasten to their Fate; those that do so beside me stand as the best of Humanity and whether we prevail or not; I would have them, you, know... I would rather walk into darkness at their side than live in the light with men of any lesser quality.”

Her voice, her clarion voice that so often dripped with venomous sarcasm, that bit with vile imprecation or chilled men to the bone with its hollow frost, rang instead with pride; such a fulsome pride that all who heard her words were moved. It was Lieutenant Pressly who broke the silence, a lone clap of applause that sparked a chain reaction until first the CIC, then the command deck, and at last the Normandy herself shook with the crew’s applause and cheers. Not one single soul had been unmoved by her words, nor did they doubt the commander or the need for the action they had taken. Ashley confirmed as much when Shepard stepped down from the map’s dais; and she saluted Shepard crisply, all the while her deep brown eyes shone with pride and admiration. “Damn, Skipper,” she said as the salute was returned, “You could rouse the dead to battle with a speech like that! Kaidan would be proud of you, stepping up for the crew like that... I know I am. We're all in it for the duration, Commander. You can count on everyone to do more than just their duty."

Shepard nodded and smiled gently. It was far less than what she wanted to do, which was to step in and hold Ashley close, to lose herself in the safety of those arms and draw strength from the brunette’s faith in her. Instead, she whispered quietly as she surreptiously slipped her hand into Ash’s and walked with her down to the crew deck. "We're going to win this, Ashley, I promise. After all, if Akuze couldn’t kill me; what chance does Saren have? I have every intention of making it through this...” she paused, a little nervous at what she had to say next, “...and then, if you’ll have me, of building a future with you."

Ashley gently squeezed the gloved hand that rested in hers and looked at Erisa, her brown eyes deep pools of emotion as she spoke with a reassuring confidence, "You really need a better memory, dummy... when we get out of this alive I’m transferring to whatever station will have me, remember? That way we can do this properly; no loopholes, no shortcuts... I’m not taking you home to Mom while we’re still breaking regs, you know."

Erisa chuckled gently and lifted her left hand to kiss Ashley’s knuckles lightly, softly caressing her scarred cheek with the back of Ash’s hand. "Whatever you say, LT. Not even I’m badass enough to piss off a potential mother-in-law.” She finished with a wink and had to grin at the stunned look on her love’s face. “What? I said _potential._ Geez, we haven’t even been dating a week; it’s not like I’m gonna meet the Williams women then drop to one knee straight away.” She smirked evilly as Ashley jabbed her in the ribs playfully in response then dropped an open invitation. "I have to finish my rounds, and then we should try to get some rest. See you in our cabin, _mndani_." A quick kiss and the commander left the secluded stairwell and entered the mess hall where she walked over to Wrex, who started talking before they even made eye contact. "Stealing an Alliance ship. Risky stuff. But I’m right behind you, Shepard, it’s the least I can do.”

Shepard gave him an appraising look and grinned gently; it had taken her a while but she’d eventually figured out his more reptilian mannerisms from his more krogan ones and she could see the smirk beneath his neutral expression. “You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”

The smirk surfaced and she shook her head good naturedly at him. “Yeah. But sometimes, crazy is the best way to go. Besides, it's high time we held Saren to account for what he's done. I still owe him for Virmire, hope you haven't forgotten that."

The commander shook her head. "No, I haven't forgotten, Wrex. He owes us more than one of us, and that's why you're coming with me to Ilos; you, Garrus and Ashley. Each of us has a score to settle with that bastard in one way or another and I’m going to make damn sure we collect."

Wrex punched a fist into his other palm and grinned that same wolfish grin Shepard did. "Heh, if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that with you; anything is possible. I'll be ready. And Shepard? Thanks. For remembering." The commander looked at him and said, "No worries, Wrex," before she turned and headed to the med bay, her next stop a chat with Doctor Chakwas.

The doctor was a bit more reflective, having served in the Alliance longer than almost any other crew member on board, and Erisa felt a little guilty for having put the woman she thought of as a mother, in their current position. At least Anderson had chosen to risk everything for them, rather than had it thrust upon him. "It's strange, being a fugitive from the Alliance,” Karin said, sounding in good humour, “Even though you didn’t choose it, for you and I both, the Alliance has been our life. This crew has sacrificed everything for you, Shepard. Don’t let us down.”

Shepard was fully aware of what everyone was risking, what they all stood to lose on this mission, but once she weighed it against what would be lost if Saren succeeded, she knew in a heartbeat she would sacrifice them all to keep the Reapers from returning. "I know, Doc. But I wouldn't have asked it of them if I didn't think it was necessary. Saren and Sovereign _have_ to be stopped, and if we can’t do it then we’ll damn well slow the bastard down enough for the next guy to have a shot at it. If the Reapers ever make it back, it’ll be over my dead body, that’s a promise Karin.” Her face hardened, filling with resolve. “If it takes the sacrifice of every man and woman on this ship, we’ll stop them.” Looking out the medbay windows into the mess hall, her eyes lighted on Ashley and she smiled softly. “There are some things in life more important than duty and honour; and they’re worth dying for, Doc. You reminded me of that." A quick hug later, and the commander was out the door on her way to the cargo hold.

True to form, Garrus was working on the Mako, calibrating its main cannon this time, in preparation for whatever was awaiting them at Ilos. As she approached, he looked up, offering her one of his trademark dry smiles, a mandible twitching ever so slightly. “Good speech. Got a little wordy.” Erisa suppressed a grin and shrugged nonchalantly. “I got a little swept up in the moment. I don’t get to give bad ass battle speeches too often so I made the most of it.” She paused and turned to lean her back against the Mako before she raised an eyebrow at him. “Sooo... how long you going to keep pretending to calibrate stuff just so you have an excuse to spend time with Tali?”

Her turian friend almost choked at her not so subtle implication and she covered a grin at finally managing to break his usual poise before he changed the subject to cover his embarrassment. “Ahem... I can’t believe we stole the Normandy,” he said with a shake of his head, “I mean, I’m not surprised it came to this after everything you’ve told me, but still...”

Erisa smirked wryly. “You legitimately worried Garrus, or is your over developed turian sense of duty playing up again?” He chuckled softly at her gentle admonishment and shook his head. “No, not really. If you’re wrong we’ll pay for it. But if you’re right and we did nothing... well, I think we’d regret that a whole lot more.”  Shepard nodded slowly. “We’ll catch him. I know you want a piece of him for his dealings on the Citadel, so I'm taking you with us on mission. You, me, Wrex and Ashley. It’ll be a tight squeeze in the Mako, but I'm hoping we won't be in it all that long. Besides, comfort doesn't matter. I think we're going to need all the firepower we can get on this one."

Garrus nodded gratefully. “Thank you, Shepard. I appreciate that.” A rare smile crossed his thin, avian lips. “You know, for a human you’re actually alright.” Erisa grinned and gave his shoulder a friendly slap before she walked away. “Not so bad yourself, Vakarian. You’re not so bad yourself.”


	28. The End Game

Still six hours out from the Mu Relay, Shepard returned to her cabin, opened the door and stepped inside; pausing once across the threshold to look about. The lights were low, but on, and gentle music floated softly on the air. She recognised the tune, ‘Layla’; it was one of Ashley's favourites; despite her teasing of Shepard for liking the old classic rock of pre-Relay Earth. A tumbler of Don Julio waited for her on her desk and it brought a smile to her lips; she'd forgotten what it was like to have someone to come home to at the end of the day; even if home was just a cabin on a warship. Picking it up, she sipped slowly, savouring the tropical after notes and walked slowly around her ready room and into the bedroom she now shared with Ashley.

Her best friend and the love of her life was already in bed, waiting for her; and despite having moved her footlocker into their quarters she still preferred to wear one of Erisa's plaid flannel shirts to bed. As Shepard entered their living space, Ash looked up from her book, a volume of the collected works of Alfred Lord Tennyson, and smiled fondly at her girlfriend. "Hey Skipper."

Shepard returned the smile only half heartedly and stood at the end of the bed, sipping her tequila slowly. When she spoke, her voice sounded flat and weary; nothing at all like the fiery trumpet of war that she'd been earlier when speaking to the crew. "You probably shouldn't call me that anymore, Ash. I'm not your Commander. Not anymore." She looked down and picked at the front of her fatigues. "Hell, I probably shouldn't even be wearing this uniform."

Closing her book, Ash laid it aside on the drawers nearby and shifted in the bed, coming to rest on her knees as she held out a hand towards the commander. "We had to do this, 'Risa, you know that. There was no other way. And you'll always be the Skipper to me, 'O Captain, my Captain'."

That brought a wry smile to Shepard's lips and she set down her glass as she moved to take Ashley's hand and sit on the side of the bed. "Really? I should have known you'd pull out Whitman on me."

Ashley just grinned and sort of folded her body in behind Shepard as she sat on the edge of the bed; strong arms draping lovingly over Erisa's shoulders as Ash pulled her close. Her voice was as playful as her smile and she nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you kinda should've." Soft lips brushed Shepard's cheek in a fleeting kiss, sending a soft shiver down her spine, and she started to unlace her boots while Ash talked. "Dad loved all those sappy poets. Mom was more into Plath. I'm not a word person, 'Risa, you know that. Other people say what I mean better than I do. I mean look at us; we're mutineers, sailing a stolen warship into the most hostile system in the galaxy. Just call us Humanity's best and brightest."

Tossing her combat boots into the corner, she unbuckled her belt then lifted her arms above her head; letting Ash help her get undressed. Once her fatigue top and long sleeved undershirt had joined her boots, she twisted in Ashley's arms and pressed her lips to Ash's. "Well, we wouldn't have been assigned to this boat if we weren't," she said with a smile that was only slightly forced. "We'll get it done."

Ash sat back and watched appreciatively as her love stood and stripped off her leggings before moving to the closet for a clean pair of sweatpants. "And if we don't, at least we won't have to face the firing squad," she said with a morbid cheer. "'Death closes all. But something ere the end, some work of noble note may yet be done, not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.' We'll get home again Shepard. I believe you'll lead us through, 'O Captain, my Captain.'"

Erisa smiled warmly at the recitation of a passage from Ulysses and sat down again on the edge of the bed, pulling off her omnipresent glove before reaching up to caress Ashley's cheek; running the tip of her thumb over those perfect lips and smiling as her love nuzzled into her touch. "Thank you, Ash. I mean that. You've been my rock, my pillar through all of this. Without you at my side I honestly don't think I'd have made it this far." She paused a moment, a question in her dark eyes that soon made its way to her lips. "Is... is my rank really the first thing you see when you look at me?"

Ashley cupped the hand at her cheek and ran her fingers lightly over the acid-scarred skin, a gentle admonishment in her voice when she replied. "You know it's not. I see a strong, passionate woman. A little damaged maybe, and carrying some serious baggage... but unconquerable. And with a great ass." A pregnant silence filled the air, and for the first time, Ashley felt comfortable enough in their relationship to unburden some of her own baggage off onto Erisa's shoulders. "The truth is I've spent my whole life fighting to get what I want. To get it done, I had to bury a lot of things. During that whole time, not once did I feel like I was worth what I was fighting for. You make me feel like I am."

Shepard smiled fondly at the brunette and leant in; kissing her softly in an intimate exchange that conveyed to Ashley just how much she loved her. "If we're going the whole truth route here," she said with a bemused smile, "then let's be honest; I wasn't just damaged when we met. I was broken. You picked me up, piece by piece and put me back together. I'll never be able to repay you for that."

A slight blush tinged Ashley's cheeks an adorable pink and she playfully jabbed her love in the ribs. "You already have, dumbass. You love me. Like no one else ever has. Totally and completely; and that's all I'll ever need from you. All I'll ever want."

Erisa smirked and ran her thumb over Ash's lips again, leaning in so close they were sharing one another's breath before she spoke, whispering huskily. "Bold words, Williams. I like bold."

Ashley grinned and shook her head at the rising sexual tension, already feeling her body begin to respond with expectant tingles. She growled softly, reaching for Erisa. "Shut up and get over here."

"Make me."

\-----------------------------

The Bridge was full; every ground team member wanted to be present for the relay jump and to see what awaited them on the other side. For all its import, the Mu Relay looked like all the others in the galaxy, and as the Normandy approached the relay, the blue energy reached out and encompassed the ship, accelerated it along the path of the arms and launched the Normandy across space. While the relay's appearance may have been typical, what awaited them on the distant end was anything but routine. As they emerged, Joker voiced what everyone else saw, "Uh... Commander? We've got company." The view showed dozens of Geth warships orbiting the planet, forming a seemingly impregnable blockade. Liara chimed in, her voice pitched with concern, "Have their sensors picked us up yet?"

Joker replied with his best sarcastic tone, "Stealth systems ARE engaged...unless we get close enough for a visual, they won't have any idea we're here." Looking up from one of the bridge’s sensor stations, Pressly frowned. “Picking up some strange readings from the surface.” Shepard looked across to her faithful XO, glad that she had his experience as a navigator to draw on. “Take us down, Joker. Lock in on those coordinates.” XO Pressly spoke again, "Negative on that, Commander. The nearest landing zone's two klicks away." Ashley was standing in the back of the bridge, arms crossed, staring at the planet beneath them. "We'll never make it in time on foot! Get us something closer!” Pressly didn’t appreciate his skill as a navigator being questioned and he snapped at Ash, “There is nothing closer, I looked!”

A grim expression crossed Shepard’s face; she hadn’t stolen the Normandy and sacrificed everything to be stymied this close to her goal. “Drop us in the Mako.” Pressly gave her a shocked look and quickly ran the calculations.  “You need at least a hundred metres of open terrain to pull off a drop like that. The most I can find near Saren is twenty.” Ashley’s eyes opened wide as she looked at Shepard and saw that the commander was actually considering it. “It’s twenty metres, Shepard. There’s no way we can make a drop in there!” She threw a heated look at the XO. “Find another landing zone!” The older naval officer threw his hands up in the air, exasperated. “There is no other landing zone!” Wringing her hands, Liara looked imploringly at the commander. “It's our only option. We have to try!” Ashley shook her head vehemently. “It's not an option Li, it's a suicide run! We don't...”

Quietly, Joker looked over his shoulder and caught the commander’s eye. "I can do it." Shepard looked at him intently, but there was no hint of his usual bravado or conceit, only pure confidence.  She raised a brow in query, ignoring all other conversation, "Joker?"  Setting his jaw grimly, he nodded once, sure of his skill and repeated himself. “I can do it.”

With a smile, she laid a hand on his shoulder. “That’s good enough for me.” Turning to the rest of the bridge, she raised her voice over their arguing, her tone brooking no dissent. “Gear up and head down to the Mako. Joker - drop us right on top of that bastard!”

Down in the hold, the ground team piled into the Mako; stowing their weapons in the onboard lockers and buckling their harnesses before they ran swiftly through the pre-drop checks; making sure all systems were green for what would be an almost suicidal drop. Killing the interior lighting, the four man team were plunged into darkness only to watch as the cargo hold ramp began to lower, bathing them in the orange light of Ilos’ sun. With the steep descent vector, only the docking clamps held them in place, and Ashley’s hand hovered over the button to disengage them. Casting one final look about the cramped cabin at the finest soldiers she’d ever had the honour to fight beside, Shepard gave them all a reassuring smirk and slid her old 323rd playlist OSD into the Mako’s audio system; ramping up the volume on both the internal and external speakers.

“Let’s kick this pig and see what squeals,” she said with a dangerous grin. True to his word, Joker delivered a precision drop with a perfectly timed stall to minimize all forward motion. Ashley killed the docking clamps and the Mako dropped off the Normandy loading ramp and plummeted towards the ground, the silence of the Ilosian morning broken by the hissing of grav thrusters, the blaring horns and the tinny reverb of CCR’s pounding drums.

 

_‘Seven thirty seven comin' out of the sky_

_Won't you take me down to Memphis on a midnight ride_

_I want to move_

_Playin' in a travelin' band_

_Yeah!_

_Well I'm flyin' 'cross the land tryin' to get a hand_

_Playin' in a travelin' band.’_

 

Landing hard, Shepard killed the throttle and slammed on the brakes, the Mako skidding to a halt at the opening to the underground facility just as Saren slammed a huge stone entry door in their face, eliciting a bevy of vile imprecations from inside the Mako’s cockpit. The Normandy fire team quickly piled out of the APC, the music still pulsing and pounding, and while Garrus watched their rear, Shepard and Wrex gave the heavy security door a once over. Finding no way to open it on site, Shepard kicked the door in frustration and Wrex grumbled  unhappily. “No way we can blow it either,” he growled, “at least, not with the ordinance we have with us. We’re going to need to find some way of getting power to the door’s systems.” Time was of the essence now, Saren was so close she could almost taste him. “Okay people, we need to get in there and catch up to Saren before he finds the Conduit. That bastard had to find a way to open this door, so that’s our primary. I’d expect there to be some kind of security override somewhere in this complex."

Before she could issue any further orders, Garrus’ dry voice rang out, followed by the crack of his rifle. “Contact rear!” Spinning to their six, they saw a Geth trooper drop to the ground, skidding forward under its momentum as it shuddered and sparked before dying. More were following on its heels though; and the Normandy team moved to head them off. Knowing they were likely to be facing a geth army, the entire team had loaded out to maximise their firepower. Assault rifles had been abandoned in favour of Revenant light machineguns, their combat harnesses were heavy with thermal clips and barrier packs, and even Shepard had foregone her usual twin SMGs in favour of a heavier machinegun. It was little surprise then that the onrushing toasters were met with a metal storm as three Revenants shattered the air with their rapid barking; steadily punctuated by the sharper crack of Garrus’ Indra. With the door behind them, their twenty metre landing strip turned into a killing field, with Geth converging on their drop zone, only to fall steadily beneath the withering hail of gunfire as the team quickly worked its way out into the main courtyard. Once there, things got a bit more difficult when they discovered two Geth Armatures waiting for them. Fortunately, they had faced them before at Therum and Noveria, so they knew how to defeat them; they proved only a minor obstacle, concentrated fire followed by a pair of disruptor grenades soon reducing them to sparking, smoking debris. As the smoke cleared, they slapped in fresh thermals and checked their scanners, plotting a course to what looked like a central security checkpoint. Ash shook her head as she brought up her omnitool and scanned the area. “My scanner’s absolutely lousy with toasters, ma’am. Gonna be a hell of a fight getting there.”

Shepard frowned and shook her head. “I don’t think so, LT. Anyone else notice something off about their tactics so far? “ Garrus nodded in response, "They’re not pushing forward like they usually do, they’re just holding position and letting us come to them.” Wrex nodded in agreement. “Makes sense. They don’t need to stop us, just slow us down enough to give Saren time to reach the Conduit.” Hawking, he spat to the side and put a round into a still moving geth platform. The commander swore in frustration, having to agree with her team’s  assessment. “Fucking toasters. Let’s pick up the pace then people! Run’n gun.” Moving with a renewed sense of urgency, they literally ran through the maze of pathways and corridors, moving as fast as they possibly could; pausing only to eliminate immediate threats with lethal efficiency. After the two Armatures in the courtyard, most of the platforms were regular Geth troopers and assault drones, making their elimination relatively easy, especially with two expert marksmen on the team; the lighter armour and low powered shields of the most basic geth units were nowhere near enough to stop an AP round fired from a hyper velocity-enhanced Indra modified with frictionless materials. They moved through a second courtyard and were confronted by a Geth Destroyer and several troopers. The Destroyer proved to be no challenge, with Wrex launching a singularity at it, allowing Shepard to put it down hard with precise shots from her Indra shattering its power core and obliterating its CPU. Garrus and Ashley mopped up the other troopers with sustained precision machinegun fire that rendered the lighter platforms into little more than scrap metal.

After passing through the courtyard, they discovered an operational elevator and climbed aboard. As they reached the elevator's destination, their scanners were jammed, so Shepard hit the elevator’s emergency override and killed the doors. “Jammers. Assessment?” she asked, brusquely. Garrus spoke up first, outlining what past experiences had taught them they could expect. “Hoppers, maybe a Prime; probably backed with regular troopers.” She nodded and fished a smoker out of her combat harness. “Switch your scope to EM. Williams, Wrex, suppressing fire. Keep their heads down while we hunt them out.” Receiving nods, she waited until they were in position, their backs against the elevator walls before she killed the emergency override. As soon as the doors started opening, she popped smoke just outside the elevator and lifted her own rifle, peering down its scope that now read electromagnetic signatures . It turned out to just be Hoppers and a Stalker, their tactical advantage now nullified by the thick smoke, and she and Garrus cleared them methodically from inside the cloud, high velocity rounds reducing them to wrecks as soon as their EM fields registered on a scope. After working their way through the Geth, they arrived at yet another elevator taking them even deeper into the complex. This time, when the doors opened, they found themselves at the entry to the main command centre.

\-----------------------------

Liara, Tali and Pressly stood in the Normandy’s CIC, anxiously monitoring the field team's progress when all communication with the team’s hard suit telemetry suddenly winked out. Tali quickly became concerned, "What happened? Where did they go?”

Lieutenant Pressly double checked the systems and switched to back up frequencies, then back to the main channels, but nothing he did elicited any change. “I don’t know, nar Rayya; it’s possible they’ve gone out of range, or perhaps the Geth have managed to jam their signal. Or they’ve entered a shielded area of the Prothean complex, there’s nothing more I can do from here though.” That worried Tali even more, but she could do nothing to change the fact that the ground team had just literally vanished, all signs of her commander; her friend, disappearing off the scope. Liara took a deep breath, silently praying to the Goddess to keep her friends safe and see them through to the end of their mission, before she stepped up and took command; every trace of the once shy archaeologist burned away in the fires of war. "You all know Shepard’s standing orders in case something like this happened." She glanced around and saw nothing but solemn, stony faces, none of them were happy about the orders the commander had left, but no one raised a dissenting voice; Shepard hadn’t led them wrong yet, and after her fiery speech when they’d fled the Citadel, no one was going to disobey any of her orders. Tali shook her head slowly and straightened her shoulders, backing Liara’s authority. "Keelah... Joker, you know what to do. Get us to Arcturus as fast as you can. We’ve got a message to get to Admiral Hackett. It’s time for the Fifth Fleet to get into this fight!”

\-----------------------------

The ground team wasted no time clearing the hallway, and quickly entered the main facility. Immediately, they were besieged by multiple Geth, including standard Troopers, Shock Troopers, a couple of Destroyers, and at least one Prime. Shepard began hollering orders down her mic as soon as they started taking fire. “Cover, now! Wrex, suppressing fire on the Shock Troopers; Williams, same on those Destroyers. Let’s cut down the angles people, I want control of this firefight ASAP! Vakarian, it’s time to go dark.” The battle was intense and prolonged, with half her team caught behind cover and doing their best to keep the enemy forces distracted and pinned in place. Shepard and Garrus cloaked and began to flank the battlefield on either side; staying out of their squad mates’ line of fire as they moved into position for kill shots on the heavy command units. Where they safely could; they deployed SFGs along the way, disabling geth weapons and making them easy targets for Ashley and Wrex who quickly eliminated the standard and Shock Troopers before switching fire to the Prime. The two Normandy snipers were soon in position and they quickly coordinated their shots. On the count of three they opened fire; cycling their heavy rifles smoothly and efficiently as they took out first the Prime, already weakened by constant barrages from Revenants, and then switched their fire to the remaining Destroyers. The initial salvos weren’t enough to down the as yet undamaged platforms, but the sudden attacks from unexpected angles split their focus and as they began to hunt for the snipers, another set of disruptor grenades  landed at their feet. The resulting detonation and energy wave disabled them; permanently. The pace of the battle had been unexpectedly brisk, certainly moreso than Shepard had expected considering their entrenched position and defensive tactics, but it was the truest indication yet that the entire team had gelled, working together like a well-oiled machine; the combined experiences of all their previous firefights coming to the fore. In little over two minutes, the entire room was clear and Shepard had access to the control panel. Compliments of the Prothean cipher, working the controls was relatively easy. After activating the panel, a recording played, mentioning the Citadel and the Conduit, but it was much too degraded for even Shepard to make any sense of it. “Okay,” she said as she waved them forward, “that security door should be open, let’s doubletime it back to the Mako and get after that sonovabitch.”

The massive stone security gate opened into a huge interior hallway that plunged deep into the facility. Standing before the yawning portal, Ashley looked at Shepard, then at the Mako and after a beat, back to Shepard. “Yeah... I say we take the armoured fighting vehicle into the creepy underground bunker.” Wrex grinned as he popped the hatch. “Good idea, the firepower will come in handy.” Garrus just groaned. “Oh joy... back into the sardine tin.” Shepard smirked wryly as she sealed the cabin behind her and slipped behind the wheel. “You could always ride up top, Vakarian.” Her sly friend smiled and shook his head. “The way you drive... no thanks. I’ll just get cosy back here behind Wrex’s fat ass.” The Krogan grunted and gave an insulted sniff. “It’s winter weight.” Ash looked at Shepard and grinned as the two shipmates behind them continued to bicker even as the Mako started to roll forward, picking up speed as they descended into the bunker. 

“Winter weight? _Really?_ We live in space, Wrex.”

“Its winter somewhere, ain’t it?”

The walls were largely intact, but the floor was very broken, with large roots pushing up the flooring in multiple locations and making driving difficult. The Geth presence was almost negligent so far though, nothing more than a handful of Rocket Troopers as a rearguard that were easily dispatched by Wrex and the Mako’s guns. That left the commander free to focus purely on driving, avoiding the most broken and overgrown sections of road. As they drove, Ashley kept a close eye out for ambush; expecting Saren to have set a trap for them, but nothing occurred and soon her attention was drawn to the walls of the underground road, which were lined with strange looking capsules. “What are all those things on the wall?” she asked curiously, “Some kind of containers?” Wrex swivelled the turret left to right and examined them through the targeting systems of the Mako’s 40mm cannon. “Hmm, they look like stasis pods. The Protheans probably tried to keep themselves alive through cryogenic freezing.” The marine lieutenant looked about as they drove passed another bank of pods and gave a low whistle. “Liara would love this place. Good thing we didn’t bring her along though; by now she’d be climbing the walls trying to get a look at a Prothean popsicle.” That got a soft snort from Shepard. “Once we’ve taken care of our business with Saren and his toaster army I’m sure she’ll find her way here. Gotta admit, for a Prothean researcher, this place is the find of a lifetime. This bunker might have been the last refuge of their entire species.” She gave Ash a grin. “Li would have a ball here, digging up whatever mysteries this place might hold.”

Their progress came to a sudden halt though, when they ran into a shimmering, golden energy barrier that cut right across the passage. Both Ashley and Garrus’ first instincts were that it was a trap, but Wrex’s experience, and Shepard’s gut, said otherwise. Regardless, the Mako’s weapons couldn’t even scratch it, so they dismounted and the commander took a look at it up close before shaking her head. “No, something tells me this isn’t Saren. Spread out and look around; got to be some kind of control interface for this thing.” Unfortunately there wasn’t. But there was an elevator to the right, and the team climbed in, descending even farther down into the facility. “What the hell is down here?” queried Ashley, “Is this just another trap, or have we finally run into some good luck?” Garrus’ reply was almost Saharan. “Don’t get your hopes up, LT. The only thing we can depend on right now is ourselves.”

 

 With a soft jolt, the elevator finished its descent and the four soldiers formed a staggered line in front of the doors; weapons at the ready, just in case. It turned out to be an unnecessary precaution as the elevator opened onto a short narrow pathway, ending at a console with a holo projection above it. As Shepard approached, it began to speak. 

“You are not Prothean. But you are not machine either. This eventuality was one of many that were anticipated. This is why we sent our warning through the beacons. I do not detect the taint of indoctrination upon any of you. Unlike the other that passed recently. Perhaps there is still hope. My name is Vigil. You are safe here, for the moment. But that is likely to change. Soon, nowhere will be safe.”

Shepard eyed the corrupted holo image critically before replying. “You seem a little too advanced to be a simple VI program, especially as damaged as you are. My guess; you're some kind of AI.”

“Your supposition is correct,” replied the ancient Prothean computer. “I am an advanced non-organic analysis system with personality imprints from K’sad Ishan, chief overseer of the Ilos research facility.”

The commander sniffed, uneasy at having to deal with an artificial intelligence; especially given their experiences with Sovereign. “And I'm also going to guess that you're the one responsible for the energy curtain blocking our progress, which in turn led us here. Why?” she asked curiously.

Vigil answered her after a moment’s pause. “You must break a cycle that has continued for millions of years. But to stop it you must first understand it, or you will make the same mistakes we did. The Citadel is the heart of your civilisation and the seat of your government. As it was with us and as it has been with every civilisation that came before us. But the Citadel is a trap. The station is itself an enormous mass relay. One that links to dark space, the empty void beyond the galaxy's horizon. When the Citadel is activated, the Reapers will pour through. And all you know will be destroyed.”

“ _Tomba...”_ Shepard breathed, horrified by the implications of Vigil’s statement. “The Reapers could wipe out the Council and the entire Citadel fleet in a single surprise attack!”

“That was our fate,” replied the Prothean AI, resignation in its disembodied, synthesized voice. “Our leaders were dead before we even realised we were under attack. The Reapers seized control of the Citadel and through it, the mass relays. Communication and transportation across our empire was crippled. Each star cluster was isolated, cut off from the others. Easy prey for the Reaper fleets. Over the next decades the Reapers systematically obliterated our people. World by world, system by system, they methodically wiped us out.”

The more she heard, the clearer it became they didn’t have a moment to lose. They needed to stop Saren’s plans in their tracks. “Not that I don't appreciate the history lesson, but you brought us here for a reason, Vigil. What is it?”

“The Conduit is the key,” it said with a tone of finality. “Before the Reapers attacked, the Protheans were on the cusp of unlocking the mysteries behind mass relay technology. Ilos was a top secret facility. Here, researchers worked to create a small scale version of a mass relay. One that linked directly to the Citadel; hub of the relay network.”

Ashley arrived at the same conclusion only moments before Shepard did. “The Conduit's not a weapon... it's a back door onto the Citadel!”

As much as they needed to get moving, Vigil was filling in vital pieces of the puzzle, so Erisa kept listening. “What happened next?”

Vigil continued its story. “We severed all communication with the outside and our facility went dark. The personnel retreated underground into these archives. To conserve resources, everyone was put into cryogenic stasis. I was programmed to monitor the facility and wake the staff when the danger had passed. But the genocide of an entire species is a long, slow process. Years passed. Decades, centuries. The Reapers persisted. And my energy reserves were dwindling.”

Shepard gave a low whistle. “That was fifty thousand years ago! Even the Normandy's Tantalus power core would have depleted its eezo stores a hundred times over by then, just through half-life isotope decay alone. How on earth have you survived so long?”

The AI’s voice filled what sounded like simulated regret. “I began to disable the support of non-essential personnel. First support staff, then security. One by one their pods were shut down to conserve energy. Eventually only the stasis pods of the top scientists remained active. Even these were in danger of failing when the Reapers finally retreated back through the Citadel relay.”

Ash’s face filled with a look of horror at what Vigil had been forced to do. “But there are hundreds of stasis pods out there! You just shut them down? You killed them!”

Reaching across the gap between them, Erisa gently squeezed her love’s shoulder. “Easy Ash, Vigil couldn't let everyone die. Better to sacrifice some so others could live. Besides, I doubt he had much of a choice. There's probably some kind of triage subroutine embedded in his monitoring program; to keep the top scientists alive at all costs. It's standard protocol at any research facility rated top secret or higher; even in the Alliance.”

The computer sounded grateful for her understanding. “You are correct, Commander. This outcome was not completely unforeseen. My actions were indeed a result of contingency programming entered on my creation. I saved key personnel. When the Reapers retreated, the top researchers were still alive. My actions are the only reason hope remains. When the researchers woke, they realised the Prothean species was doomed. There were only a dozen individuals left, far too few to sustain a viable population. Yet they vowed to find some way to stop the Reapers from returning. A way to break the cycle forever. And they knew the keepers were the key.”

That saw confusion cross the faces of all four of the Normandy soldiers. “The keepers?” said Wrex, “aren't they the Citadel's janitors? The little green bugs always fixing things?”

“The keepers are far more important than you know,” advised Vigil. “They are controlled by the Citadel. Before each invasion, a signal is sent through the station compelling the keepers to activate the Citadel relay. After decades of feverish study, the scientists discovered a way to alter this signal. Using the Conduit, they gained access to the Citadel and made the modifications. This time, when Sovereign sent the signal to the Citadel, the keepers ignored it. The Reapers are trapped in dark space.”

 _Dark space makes sense; I was starting to wonder where in the galaxy a fleet of dreadnoughts like Sovereign could hide without eventually being found._ “So that's why Sovereign had to resort to co-opting the Geth and recruiting Saren...” she said aloud, no longer musing. “He needed agents who could move freely about the Citadel; and an army to confront the Citadel fleet with! Saren's going to use the Conduit to bypass all the Citadel's external defences!”

Vigil flickered and confirmed her suspicion. “Correct again. And once inside, he can transfer control of the station to Sovereign, who will override the Citadel's systems and manually open the relay. And the cycle of extinction will begin again.”

Shepard’s face got that steely look to it again, her eyes hardening to diamonds and her voice to glacial ice. “Not as long as I have anything to say about it. I'll take Sovereign down... Somehow.” She hadn’t the faintest clue about the how; but that had never stopped her before and it wouldn’t slow her down now. Like Karin always said; she’d think of something.

Vigil had one last piece of aid it could give them. “There is a data file on my console. Take a copy when you go. When you reach the Citadel's master control unit, upload it to the system. It will corrupt the Citadel's security protocols and give you temporary control of the station. It might give you a chance against Sovereign.”

Garrus, who’d had the most experience with the massive space station, got a curious look in his eye. “Wait, where's the Citadel master control unit? I've never heard of anything like that, not in all my years with C-Sec, anyway.”

“Through the Conduit,” answered Vigil. “Follow Saren. He will lead you to your destination.”

Shepard quickly downloaded the data file and passed copies to all the team members then issued her orders even as Vigil flickered and died. “Saren's got a head start. Let's move out, people! From now on, we stop for nothing until we hit the Conduit.”

The team returned to the Mako, and with the energy curtain now down, Shepard turned into a speed demon. She drove the Mako as fast as she dared, pushing the APC to the limit as she red lined its engines, bobbing and weaving to minimize any damage the Geth that were in their path tried to inflict. Speed had become her _raison d’être_. Wrex still manned the main 40mm gun and Garrus worked the .50 cal, taking any opportunity they could to return fire and prevent the Geth from getting off any decent shots. The strategy worked, and after some hinky driving and close calls, they were sitting at the top of a long downward slope, and the Conduit stood before them. Gearing up, Shepard doubled clutched it and threw the throttle into overdrive; the Mako’s tyres squealing as it leapt forward down the slope like a bat out of hell.  They took fire from all sides as they approached the Conduit, powering through an all out geth blockade before they suddenly felt the Mako leave the ground as the mass relay took hold of the vehicle and hurled them skyward. Their world exploded in a rainbow of colours and then went black, as the Mako was suddenly hurled through space to the Citadel’s Presidium plaza.

\-----------------------------

The Citadel fleet was supposedly ready, but the strength of the Geth fleet when it rolled through the relay was initially overwhelming as the Geth came out of the relay firing. Four turian cruisers were destroyed in the first few seconds; their powerful barriers overwhelmed by the sheer firepower coming from the mass accelerator cannons of the geth vanguard. Even though the captains and commanders of the fleet’s varied warships had all seen the video footage of Sovereign over Eden Prime, none of them were prepared when it appeared in space before them; it’s massive bulk breaking apart a turian destroyer as it rammed clean through the battleship. As soon as the large vessel was detected coming through the relay, the Destiny Ascension assumed control of the battle and ordered Citadel Control to activate their defences, only to discover the station was not unresponsive. No one could have known Saren had already used the Conduit and was in control of the station's systems; his Geth escort killing any who got in his way. The Citadel itself was a marvel of engineering, with a central core and five individual wards that protruded like arms, making the structure look like a star when it was open. Part of the Citadel defences consisted of the ability to close those arms and change the shape of the Citadel from a star to an elongated tear drop, the five arms closing to a point. Once closed, nothing could go in or out until the arms were opened again. When it became clear that Citadel Control had been neutralised, Matriarch Lidanya, Commander of the Destiny Ascension, gave the order for the Council to be immediately evacuated onto her flagship as the Citadel fleet provided cover and moved to intercept the invaders.

After already having seized control of the Citadel’s control station, Saren and his synthetic troops advanced quickly to the station’s master control unit, located in the very Council Chamber where he’d once sworn an oath to serve and protect. Once there he held the defences in stasis just long enough for Sovereign to enter the station and dock on the Citadel. Once Sovereign was inside, Saren allowed the station to close, effectively shielding the dreadnought from the Citadel fleet and giving Sovereign all the time it needed to integrate into the Citadel systems; it would not be long now before Saren saw his moment of triumph, the return of the Reapers.

\-----------------------------

Far below, down in the Presidium plaza, two geth troopers patrolled back and forth; yet another rearguard posted to ensure that no one, though primarily not C-Sec, made any attempt to follow Saren Arterius up into the Council chambers. It was tedious, pointless work; perfect for the most basic of geth trooper platforms, but unfortunately for the pair in question, today was going to be anything but tedious. At the centre of the Presidium reservoir stood a perfect scale replica of a mass relay; or at least that was what inhabitants of the Citadel had always thought. It would have come as a great surprise to them to have been told it was, in fact, the other end of the Conduit. Within the scale sculpture, the concentric rings began to spin, slowly at first but they soon picked up speed and crackled with energy as they became a glowing, blue blur; the eezo within them powering their manipulation of dark energy and completing the link with Ilos’ Conduit. The patrolling geth readied their weapons to face the intruders they’d been told might follow; what they didn’t expect to hear was the far-off revving of a heavy engine and the distant finger-blistering solo of a heavy rock anthem. Then, with a rumbling roar, the Mako completed its transit; bursting into existence and sailing through the air to land hard; wiping out the two patrolling geth bodily as it rolled over and over, finally coming to a halt up against the far wall. She was a wreck, two of her trans-axles shattered, her turret loose and the gearbox stuck in high revs. The music still blasted away though; AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’ echoing off of the Presidium walls like it was a canyon, until there came a muffled pounding and the hatch to the cabin was booted open. Wrex was the first to roll out, followed by Garrus; who was helped to his feet by the big Krogan. “Heh, whaddaya know, we made it.” Wrex said with a grin, to which the turian renegade smirked dryly as he cricked his neck, working out a strain from the crash landing. “It was certainly... novel. Can’t say I’ve ever driven a Mako between star systems before.”

Shepard was out next, and she crouched at the hatchway to help Ashley out of the battered, and frankly, dying APC. The marine lieutenant took her love’s hand as she was helped out, then stood and stretched her back, shoulders aching from where her harness had bitten in and kept her from rag dolling around the Mako’s cabin. “Hnnh,” she grunted in a distinctly unlady-like fashion, “okay, new rule. Shepard doesn’t get to drive anymore.” Erisa pouted in faux hurt and pulled her Revenant from its hardpoint over her right shoulder. “What? I got us here didn’t I?”

Their soldierly bonhomie was briefly interrupted by the sound of nearby husks dragging themselves free of Dragon’s Teeth, and all four soldiers turned to look contemptuously at the small group of charging cyborgs before hosing them down with sustained machinegun fire; dropping them quickly in an enfilade of metal rain. “Stupid things,” commented Wrex, before with a look skyward, Shepard saw the silhouette of Sovereign approaching and instantly knew where they had to be. “Time to move, people! Sovereign’s headed for the Council chambers; the smart money says that’s where Saren and this master control unit are too. Let’s double time it!”

They started toward the tower access elevator in a standard cover formation, Shepard on point, with Ash watching their six whilst Wrex and Garrus swept the flanks. Boarding the elevator, they got a brief respite but Shepard’s gut told her things were going too smoothly. Sure enough, about halfway up the tower, the elevator stopped suddenly; its control interface going dark. The commander ran her omnitool over it for confirmation then swore. “Damn it! Saren’s locked out the elevators. Suit up – we’re going outside!” It only took a moment for helmet seals to be double checked and respirators attached, then with a short burst of machinegun fire, Shepard shattered the glass wall that looked out into the vacuum of space inside the sealed Citadel and climbed out, activating her mag boots. The vertical suddenly became horizontal and she looked along the length of the tower. It was nearly a mile to the top of the Citadel tower and they’d likely face heavy resistance all the way. It would take luck, skill and most of all; speed, to get there before Sovereign fully integrated and took control of the relays. There wasn’t a second to spare!

The team moved as fast as they could, covering ground quickly. Shepard set the pace, moving as fast as her zero-gee training allowed, running and gunning as she led her team through the Geth troopers and destroyers deployed to block their advance. Wrex and Garrus unleashed Lifts and Overloads as fast as their respective biotics and tech cool downs allowed; the Lifts literally tearing the toasters free of the sides of the tower and tossing them out into space whilst Vakarian’s overloads fried the circuitry powering the magnetic fields that let the geth manoeuvre along a vertical surface. They literally fell towards, and past, the Normandy fire team, bouncing off of support struts and exterior hull protrusions before ricocheting off into space. Shepard and Ashley kept up a constant, steady stream of disruptor fire that either tore apart any synthetics caught in the open, or kept the smarter toasters pinned down in cover, allowing the team to run right by them as they fired the killing volleys. Sovereign though was not the only vessel to have made it past the Citadel's defences, so as they passed deactivated GARDIAN turrets, both Shepard and Garrus put their tech skills to work; getting them back online to take down the Geth dropships. It slowed them down, but the delays eventually paid off, as the number of Geth they were facing started to decline.

With the intense pace they were setting, Shepard knew fatigue would start to become a problem, but looking around her at her team, she hid a proud grin. None of them showed any signs of flagging yet and she was glad of her choice of squad mates for this final assault. Not that she had anything but the profoundest respect for the abilities of her missing squad members, but neither Tali nor Liara were professional military. Only the four of them here had endured the kind of training that gave a soldier the edge; that iron constitution to dig deep and find energy when there was none left to be had; and though she hated to think it, Liara especially would have only slowed them down. The asari doctor she’d come to think of as a close friend and confidant just didn’t have the experience or training to fight a lengthy, running battle in mag boots. Zero-gee operations were tricky and often disorienting, running in mag boots was a skill that had to be trained until it ran on muscle memory alone. Tali might have been able to handle it, given the nature of life on the Flotilla, but Shepard suspected they’d need the heavier firepower of the Normandy’s professionals to end Saren and Sovereign.

Nearing another long, open expanse of the tower’s exterior, she slowed the pace and pulled up; raising a fist for a complete stop. "Give me an ammo and barrier check. Anyone wounded?” The team quickly reloaded their weapons and slapped in new barrier backs to power their shields, Wrex, who’d been tossing biotics; took the opportunity to drain one of his camelback’s energy drink compartments through the feeding tube inside his helmet, and Garrus expended a barrier pack on recharging his omnitool. All the Overloads he’d been throwing had left the Mk IX Savant dangerously underpowered. Underneath all the spatter and spray of synthetic fluids they’d been hit by when dispatching toasters up close, Erisa noticed most of them had some kind of blood spatter of their own. Wrex was the least phased, his regenerative capabilities were already taking care of the worst of the few rounds that had made it through his barrier and heavy armour. Garrus was hiding a wound in his side, blue blood barely visible as it stained the black and blue plating of his Assassin suit. He caught Shepard’s concerned gaze and shrugged it off. “Just a ricochet, Commander. Nothing serious.” She gave him a hard look then nodded, accepting his appraisal of the injury. Unlike Wrex, Garrus wasn’t prone to downplaying things. “Okay, patch it as best you can. Don’t go dying on me, Vakarian; I need that aim of yours.” Lastly she looked to Ashley, and though it made her heart drop for a second, she was glad to see her love was already sealing up a hole in her suit’s right thigh plate. True to their agreement, Ashley told it like it was. “Just a graze, Skipper. Lucky shot made it through my shielding.” She then pointed to Shepard’s left shoulder. “You might want to deal with that while we’ve got a minute.” Momentarily confused, Shepard followed her finger and saw a hole in her left pauldron then suddenly felt the pain of her unnoticed wound cut through the adrenaline rush. “Damn,” she muttered, digging out her own medkit. “Okay, I guess we’ve all been tagged a little.” Scanning it with her omnitool, she was happy to confirm it was just a flesh wound and shoved a medigel injector up under the armour plating; spraying the wound with medicated, expanding foam before sealing the suit breach with emergency repair tape. “No biggie,” she told Ash lightly, “just minor tissue damage.” Finishing up, Shepard made a fist and pounded Ashley lightly on her shoulder before giving her a hand up. "Heads in the game, everybody! Let's bring the pain!"

It ended up a well-timed break, because the next corner they rolled around had a long expanse, with multiple rocket turrets in place. Shepard and Garrus traded their Revenants for Indras and sniped the turrets from a distance, drawing the rocket fire and ducking back into cover whenever one came close. That gave Wrex and Ashley the freedom to dash from cover to cover, entering the long expanse of tower exterior to eliminate the miscellaneous Geth troops stationed there to defend the rapidly exploding turrets. Once the last turret was downed by a precision shot to its targeting systems, the way to the Council chambers was open. Entering the chambers was surreal; after the frantic pace and gunfights to get there, the chambers seemed eerily quiet. As they approached the upper level, however, the quiet was shattered when Geth troopers, providing the last line of defence, spilled out of cover. Trapped on the stairwell with no cover of their own, the entire team had to drain their barrier packs to reinforce their kinetic shields as they charged forward; Revenants blazing as they cut down the last of the toasters with heavy fire. Before they could continue on and reach Saren, who was typing away on a holo control panel at the end of an extended bridge just in front of where the Council usually stood, Shepard had them all go to cover and reload, both thermals and barrier packs. This was it; the final confrontation was in reach and she didn’t want anyone on her team dying when a few seconds more of prep could prevent it.

Suddenly, Saren finished up whatever he was doing and, glancing over his shoulder, walked over to the edge of the platform and dropped out of sight. Shepard sent Garrus and Wrex out to guard the flanks whilst she and Ashley ran forward to access the panel and upload Vigil’s data file. Before they reached the bridge however, Saren and his hovercraft rose into view, spitting out grenades as it climbed into the air. The pair scattered, diving for cover. Saren started speaking, "I was afraid you wouldn't make it in time, Shepard.”

In behind cover, Shepard stowed her Revenant and pulled free her Indra, setting it for AP rounds and dialling up the velocity. In a cold, wintry tone that dripped with venomous sarcasm, she spat back an insult, trying to goad Saren into continuing to talk while she set up. “Had to wipe out a few hundred of your followers along the way. Sorry if I kept you waiting.”

The former Spectre turned Reaper agent cast a piteous look in her direction, and confident of his victory, he fell for her taunting. “You’ve lost. You know that, don’t you? In a few minutes, Sovereign will have full control of all the Citadel’s systems. The relay will open. The Reapers will return.”

Shepard rolled her eyes at his words and extended the Indra’s bipod before opening an encrypted channel to her squad. “Wrex, Garrus moved up the flanks. Let him see you. I need him distracted. I’m almost ready to take the shot.” Raising her voice, she hurled back another icy warning to keep him talking. “I’m heading to that master control panel, Saren. And you _won’t_ stop me.”

Saren gave an arrogant smile, his sense of superiority driving him to be magnanimous for a moment. “You survived our encounter on Virmire, But I’ve changed since then. Improved. Sovereign has... upgraded me.”

Staying in cover, Shepard activated her tactical cloak and gave it time to settle into place; she couldn’t afford to let even the slightest ripple of misplaced light give away her position. To keep him busy, she fired back one last withering salvo. “You still haven’t figured me out yet, have you Saren? Surviving is what I do; it’s who I _am_. All the fancy hardware in the galaxy isn’t going to save you from what’s coming next.”

Sovereign’s puppet snarled and shook his head; his attention splitting as he angled to keep the rest of Shepard’s squad in view as they moved. “You don’t understand, Shepard! There _is_ a place for organics in the new order. The Reapers need men and women of action. People like us.” Slowly, patiently, Shepard inched from cover and lay flat on the ground, adjusting her body into the perfect shooting position before where Saren hovered on his sled, distracted. Silently she settled her Indra into position and trained her scope on the former Spectre even as he continued to talk. “Sovereign recognises your value. You’ve impressed it. Surrender to the Reapers and you will be spared. Join us and...”

Those were the last words he ever uttered. In the few moments it had taken him to speak them, Shepard had trained her scope’s reticule on his forehead, taken one last deep breath and then exhaled slowly; squeezing the trigger. At such close range the hyper velocity tungsten carbide round penetrated his barrier with ease and entered the front of his bony skull, its outer steel casing fragmenting inside his head and scrambling his brain matter before its tungsten core exited the back of his skull within nanoseconds of impact. Swaying, the lifeless body toppled from the hoversled and plummeted through the plate glass below to land in a crumpled heap amidst an untouched ornamental garden.  Standing, the light about the commander shimmered as her tactical cloak dissolved and she shouldered her rifle as she walked slowly to the edge of the bridge. Looking down at his corpse, she shook her head. “Bullet delivered. See you in hell, you sonovabitch.”

The moment over, Shepard ran to the control panel and began uploading the data file; then she looked to the rest of her team. “Make sure he’s dead.”  Wrex and Garrus nodded once and turned to find a way down into the lower courtyard, whilst she and Ashley waited and prayed that Vigil’s software worked. “Yes,’ she yelled in triumph a moment later, “Vigil’s data file did it.  I’ve got control of all systems.”

Ashley grinned. “Well quick then, open the station’s arms! Maybe the fleet can take Sovereign down before he regains control of the station!” Shepard nodded and keyed in the release codes to unlock the station’s arms, then opened a comm channel so they could get some idea of how the battle outside was progressing. Immediately they heard a distress call from the Destiny Ascension. _“...the Destiny Ascension. Main drives offline. Kinetic barriers down 40%. The Council is on board. I repeat, the Council is on board._ ” With the remaining Geth fleet still active, it was clear they wouldn't last long.

Back on the Citadel, Shepard heard Joker’s voice over a secondary channel. "Normandy to the Citadel. Normandy to the Citadel. Please tell me that's you, Commander." Erisa smirked as she confirmed that it was her. “You were expecting someone else?” Joker’s voice was tinged with relief when he continued, getting straight to business. "We caught that distress call, Commander. I'm sitting here in the Andura sector with the entire Arcturus fleet. We can save the Ascension. Just unlock the relays around the Citadel and we’ll send the cavalry in!" Shepard paused for a long moment, considering her options, when Ash chimed in; her voice heavy with understanding, knowing the choice they had to make. “We can’t throw away reinforcements trying to save the Council, ‘Risa. We have to hold them back until Sovereign is exposed...” As Shepard looked up at her, Ashley could see the ramifications of their, no, _her_ choice, consuming her soul.  “It's not just the Council, _mndani_... there are ten thousand souls on that ship, and not all of them are combatants. I can’t..." She fell silent and Ash knew what she meant. The weight of that many innocent dead would crush Erisa, utterly and completely. Stepping forward, Ashley gave Erisa a gentle smile and touched a cheek wet with tears as she whispered two words. “Then don’t.” Shepard gave Ashley a look of heartfelt gratitude for understanding then gave her answer. "Opening the relays now, Joker. Save the Ascension. Then blow that metal bastard all the way to hell!"

Just outside the Nebula, the mass relay sprang to life as blue streak after blue streak came rocketing out of nowhere, red shifting back into normal space-time. The first to appear was a lone Alliance frigate, the SR1, followed in seconds by an entire fleet of Alliance heavy cruisers and dreadnoughts. The cavalry had arrived. Aboard the Alliance dreadnought SSV Fuji, Admiral Hackett led the battle group into action. “Alliance ships; move in. Save the Destiny Ascension.” The flash and fire of the Fifth Fleet’s main guns began to fill the Nebula as they joined the battle to save the Citadel. On board the massive Asari dreadnought, their navigator finally had some good news to deliver to Matriarch Lidanya. “Commander, we’re picking up reinforcements!” Leaning over her console, the old Asari huntress gave a harried smile of relief. “It’s the Alliance; thank the Goddess!” The geth warships surrounding the embattled dreadnought didn’t know what hit them and they were soon shredded by fire from dozens of mass accelerator cannons. As the Normandy zipped past the immense ship, Joker waggled the frigate’s wings at her. “Destiny Ascension, you are all clear. Repeat, you are all clear.” Reforming, Fifth Fleet unleashed another broadside at a line of geth frigates, obliterating them, before finally, the Citadel’s arms began to breach. Hackett’s voice barked again. “The Citadel is opening. All ships; move in. Concentrate on Sovereign.”

As the first shots started to impact on Sovereign, the inside of the Council chambers started to shake and shudder as the kinetic energy transferred through Sovereign’s massive legs and into the tower itself. Shepard looked around quickly, trying to figure out what was happening, when red bolts of energy, not quite electrical and not quite plasma, started travelling around the interior of the chambers, with the energy eventually focusing on Saren's corpse; suffusing it. The platform that held the control panel collapsed after another impact on the Reaper and Shepard and Ashley were thrown down into the ornamental gardens along with Wrex and Garrus. The team watched in horror as Saren's corpse was transmuted into _something_ , a creature none of them had ever seen before. Shepard could only surmise that Saren’s fancy upgrades had included a complete biomechanical overhaul, along with hidden cybernetics and a secondary CPU that would allow Sovereign to assume full control of the body; in the event Saren became... unnecessary. When it spoke in a strangely hollow, stilted voice, she recognised it from Virmire and had her suppositions proved all at once. "I am Sovereign! And this station is **mine**!"

The squad of Normandy soldiers, to their eternal credit, adjusted fast and leapt into action. Wrex immediately threw out a lift that Garrus followed up with an overload, while Ashley unleashed hell, blasting away it with her Revenant. The sound of a heavy shotgun filled the garden as Wrex joined in the firefight and Garrus’ own light machinegun began to bark and spit at the Sovereign cyborg. Shepard fell back and tracked its inhuman leaps and jumps; quickly adapting to its speed and angles. Soon, she was punishing it with precise and lethal sniper shots as soon as it touched down on a surface. Under such extreme pressure from the finest soldiers she’d ever fought with, Shepard watched with great satisfaction as it finally crumpled to the ground; a shattered and broken wreck.

Outside, the war was not going well. The fleets were taking a beating, and the captain of the SSV Madrid voiced the general opinion no other officer was prepared to, “Sovereign’s too strong! We have to pull back!” Admiral Hackett however, would entertain no such thing. “Negative. This is our only chance. Take that monster down; no matter what the cost.” When the ground team finally killed Sovereign’s proxy in the gardens, Sovereign itself lost the last of its barriers and became vulnerable. At that point, the combined firepower of the remaining human, turian and asari fleets was enough to destroy the immense dreadnought, and it was no surprise to find the Normandy, with Joker at the helm, leading the charge. As she added her own mass accelerator cannons to the final barrage, the Reaper ship finally exploded, throwing huge pieces of its superstructure to all parts of the Citadel.

Inside, the team caught their breath and watched in silent amazement as the creature that was once Saren burst into red fire and literally turned into a pile of lifeless ash before their eyes. Shepard snapped her head up when a shadow loomed suddenly over the skylight above them, and she saw Sovereign come apart in a massive explosion they could only see, not hear.  Out of the sudden bloom of debris she saw a huge chunk of the ship headed their way and gave a last minute shout. “Run! Move move move move MOVE!!” She yelled urgently, fearing there was no possible way they were going to make it. All she could do was trust in the instincts that always seemed to keep her alive; that allowed her to survive when no one else could. Powering her way towards a stairwell, she was still metres from it when she felt the massive impact rock the entire tower. With a great, guttural yell, she threw herself bodily towards cover as the entire Council tower imploded into wanton destruction around them. Not even boosting her kinetic barriers to max helped as she heard them burn out and collapse as something powerfully strong slammed into her chest. She felt like she’d been king hit by an Elcor, or a small freight train, and the impact knocked her backward, throwing her roughly against a stairwell towards the back of the ornamental garden. As she lay there, she hoped the others had made it clear of the raining debris, or at least found cover. Lying there, stunned and breathless, she idly wondered where _Mungu_ was, or if He even bothered to greet the children of Men when they passed into the Ghostlands. It took a while before it dawned on her that she wasn’t actually dead yet, that she was, in fact, actually alive and in a considerable amount of pain. Unclipping the seals, she dragged off her helmet and tossed it aside, watching it bounce; then took a deep breath. _Oh god, that was a mistake,_ she told herself, feeling a white hot lance of pain rip through her chest; her lungs screaming at her. Looking down at her chest, she saw the obvious problem; there was a foot long piece of reinforcing steel jutting out of her chest, just beneath her left breast. _Okay, that explains the searing pain and trouble breathing. Now to find a way out of here before I bleed to death, or worse, drown in my own blood. If I die_ now _, Ash’ll kill me._ With that, she put her mind to figuring a way out of her temporary prison, focusing on the one person who could probably bring her back from the dead if she asked; Marine Lieutenant Ashley Williams.

By the time the dust had settled, the entirety of the Citadel Tower was a disaster zone. Huge scrap pieces of Sovereign lay everywhere, numerous fires burned, glass and pieces of collapsed walls lay scattered across the floor. Wrex was the first up, shoving away a piece of concrete and freeing himself as the first rescuers entered the room. He assisted their efforts, and soon they found Garrus and Ashley, safely sheltered next to a large chunk of debris leaning against a wall. One of the searchers calling out, "Captain Anderson! We've found them! They're in here." Anderson hustled over and recognized the three crew members, quickly addressing Ash. “Take it easy, it’s over. You’re safe now. Where’s the Commander, Lieutenant?” Ashley’s face was blank, her expression numb as she just shook her head, and looked toward a particularly large piece of Sovereign crushed into the floor. Even though all logic told her the woman she loved was buried under the rubble or crushed by the immense chunk of Reaper; she knew Erisa too well to believe it. Her voice was shaky at first, but strengthened as she spoke with Anderson. "She was right beside me, sir... and then... that... hit.”

Captain Anderson looked directly at the marine lieutenant and gave her a reassuring smile; even if he didn’t feel it himself. "Shepard has a knack for surviving even the impossible, Williams. I actually think Death is a little afraid of the fight she’ll put up when it comes time to take her. No, I'm not giving up on her until I find a body; and neither should you. Now come on; let's get you out of here." Some of the rescue crew moved in and started helping navigate the rubble, headed toward the exit. Out of nowhere, there came a scraping of steel on steel and with a loud bang a section of wreckage fell away. Behind it stood a slim, angular figure dressed in battered and scraped blue and white armour; with a ragged pixie cut of thick black hair, a rakish scar down one cheek and a glint in huge, dark eyes. A voice that dripped with snark echoed about the ruined gardens and set Ash’s heart to soaring. “Anyone get the... number of that exploding ship? I’d... like a word with the driver...”


	29. The Price of Victory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mpenzi = beloved (Sotho)  
> PDA = public display of affection

As soon as she heard that sarcastic, accented voice float through the wreckage of the gardens, Ashley’s grim sense of foreboding vanished like a morning mist under a hot sun and she shook her head, not quite believing it even as she broke into a huge grin. Everything; her own fatigue, the pain from her wounds, even the presence of the rescue teams and a superior officer were overridden by the fact Erisa was alive... and walking toward Ash under her own power. The fear that she’d forever lost her best friend faded with the sight of her lover climbing through the remains of the Council Gardens and Ashley looked skyward, up into the great void of the Nebula and thanked God for His beneficence and the return of the woman she loved. As the commander cleared the last obstacle, Ashley hobbled forward; slowly at first as she struggled to ignore her wounded thigh; then picked up speed. She saw Erisa pause and close her eyes and panic threatened to overwhelm the young marine for just a brief instant... until the commander's eyes opened once more and she resumed her journey. Ash hurried as best she could to her love and they crashed together; the impact causing Shepard to involuntarily cry out in pain. Ashley stepped back, worry and guilt in her concerned expression, and the blood drained from her face as she saw the short length of rebar protruding from Shepard’s chest plate. "Jesus,” she exclaimed in a horrified tone, “How the hell are you still moving, Skip?” Looking back over her shoulder, she yelled for a medic then had to quickly catch Shepard as the commander staggered and fell. Dark eyes met hers and a smirk crossed over a scarred, nubian face. “’S nothin’... you oughta see the other guy...” muttered Shepard before finally succumbing to her wounds and passing out; leaving Ash holding her crumpled body in a rapidly spreading pool of blood.

Seconds later, Anderson and a medical team arrived and just as with the rest of the Tower’s injured, they shifted everyone but Wrex onto a stretcher to haul them out and get them to the hospital. Wrex, true to form, had refused a gurney; there was no need for one when his natural Krogan regeneration was already sealing most of his wounds and renewing the damage done to his tough body. In the ambulance and en route to Huerta Memorial, the EMTs were fighting a desperate battle to keep Shepard alive; a battle Ashley could only watch from her own gurney. As the ambulances finally landed and they burst into the hospital, the emergency response team shouted at one of the attending physicians, Dr Chloe Michel. "Doc, blood pressure's crashing and her left lung collapsed en route! Needle decompression alleviated the pressure but there’s gotta be internal bleeding in there somewhere, we picked up a lot of air and fluid in her pleural cavity!”

Chloe grabbed Shepard's dog tags and then glanced over her shoulder at a med tech. "Push three units A-Pos synth. Now! Put her in O-R two!" While the crew moved Shepard to an operating table and Doctor Michel stepped into a sanitization unit, the lead field medic gave her the run down. "She took a hard hit to the left side of the chest. Two broken ribs we could stabilize, another two either side of the intrusion we weren’t game to touch. Redressed a previously sustained GSW in the left shoulder that had been treated with medigel foam; it was a clean through and through, mostly soft tissue damage. Other than that we picked up a lot of chest contusions from the primary impact, possible blunt force trauma to the internal organs. Biggest active injury is that foot long piece of rebar sticking out of her chest. I didn't want to pull it during transport, so we just stabilized it best we could to prevent further damage." The sanitizer beeped, signalling the cycle was complete, and Doctor Michel nodded a quick thank you to the medic and dived into the operation. The saviour of the Citadel was not dying on her table. Not today.

\-----------------------------

After Ashley’s gunshot wounds had been stitched and the skin regenerated, she had been released for light duty but she wasn't going anywhere. She hovered in the waiting room waiting for news on Shepard, doing her best to hide her anxiety and concern. The openness of their not exactly regulation-compliant  relationship might have been accepted on board the Normandy, but here on the Citadel there were a lot more prying eyes to try and hide from. It killed her that she couldn’t be as openly distraught as she felt, but that was the price they’d both agreed to pay to be together, rules be damned. So she waited with the others, Captain Anderson and Dr Chakwas; dutifully playing the part of concerned squad mate, not the heart-stricken partner she truly was. When Dr Michel finally emerged, Karin immediately took the lead. "Chloe, thank God. I knew Shepard was in good hands, but I'm sorry I couldn't get here fast enough to assist. How is she?"

Chloe smiled. "Karin, it is good to see you. Your help would have been appreciated, but the commander's going to be fine. She gave us a scare, though. That piece of reinforcing steel punctured her left lung, causing a tension pneumothorax. The medics had to perform an emergency needle decompression in transit. The force of the impact also created sizeable haematomas on several of her internal organs; notably her liver and right lung. I’m afraid the commander’s ill-advised movement after sustaining her injuries also caused the intrusion to nick the lower left bronchial artery."

Karin's eyes widened as she responded, "Thank God it happened in the ambulance on the way here! You say she's fine, so you obviously found it quickly and got her stabilized?"

"Yes. But between that and her other injuries, she still took seven units of synth by the time we were done. Once we removed the intrusion, the arterial repair was relatively simple. Repairing the damage to her lung however, was difficult and whilst the bronchial tissue is in good condition, it may take some time to make a full recovery. There shouldn’t be any complications, but she'll require more than a little physical therapy to regain the level of stamina she is used to. The rebar ripped right through the fifth and sixth intercostal muscles as well as her upper left abdominal external oblique, breaking her fifth and sixth _costae verae_ and cracking the fourth and seventh. Her side is going to be quite sore for some time." Chloe continued her rundown of the rest of Shepard's injuries, ending with the internal haematomas. "Now, the only thing that really concerns me is the internal bruising. I’m going to have to keep her under constant observation and run frequent scans until I can determine whether or not liver, kidney and digestive functions have been affected.” She paused again, looking to Karin for confirmation as Shepard’s primary physician. “I hadn’t realized the acid scarring on her left arm had been quite so... extensive. Do you know if there’s a reason she never considered reconstructive surgery? A simple skin culture would return her arm to almost new.”

Ashley spoke up before either Dr Chakwas or the Captain had a chance. “No, don’t do that!” she blurted out. The suddenness and firmness of her declaration drew raised eyebrows, but she powered through her embarrassment. “They’re personal to her, doctor. A reminder. If she wanted them gone she’d have done so by now, no? They... define her. In her own mind, I mean.” She was starting to stammer a little, and she could feel the heat of a flush creeping up her cheeks. It was like with every word she spoke, she was confessing the depth of their relationship to Captain Anderson. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to finish. “Taking her scars away would be like changing who she is. Sir.”

The Captain suppressed a dry smile at Williams’ interruption and subsequent blush. He hadn’t been sure about it at first, thinking that perhaps Karin had been misreading things when she’d told him of the burgeoning relationship between the two marines aboard the Normandy; but here he was, faced with what amounted to a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ confession. Not that the AMC held to such an archaic policy anymore; they hadn’t for almost two hundred years. He was just glad that finally his little girl had managed to put some of the past behind her; enough at least to have let her find someone that made her happy. “That’s alright, Lieutenant. No one said anything about removing her scars.”

Karin smiled gently at the Lieutenant’s outburst then nodded to Dr Michel. "Thank you, Chloe. I know you're busy, so I'll let you get back to it. I'll stay with Shepard, so don't worry about her. Take care of the rest of these poor souls."

Dr Michel smiled warmly. “Think nothing of it, I owe the Commander and her team my life. I’m only too happy to have had the opportunity to repay the favour.” Giving them Shepard's room number, she turned and headed back into the wards, vanishing behind the sliding doors. Karin turned to find two sets of expectant eyes. "Shall we go see how our girl is doing, then?"

\-----------------------------

It was late in the evening when Shepard finally came to her senses and realized she hurt all over. Her shoulder. Her ribs. Her insides. But especially her chest. _Ouch_. She groaned in pain just trying to shift on the bed to get more comfortable. She heard Karin's voice from her right before she even got her eyes open, and someone gripped her left hand from the other side of the bed.  _Ash._ She'd recognise that scent, that odd mix of shampoo and gun oil anywhere.

"Are you with us, Commander?" From the tone, Shepard realized quickly it was Dr Chakwas speaking, not Karin.

"Well, I’m sure as shit not in the Ghostlands,” she muttered painfully; finding it hard to talk for long, or at more than a whisper, as every breath hurt. “Not unless the afterlife is a hospital ward. Yeah, I'm here Doc, though all things considered I’d rather be in Cleveland. I haven’t hurt this bad since Akuze." She felt a squeeze of her left hand accompanied by a loving stroke up her arm, and heard a dry chuckle from across the room; it was Anderson.

"You're lucky to be alive, Shepard, so I wouldn't complain if I were you. Williams described what it was like in the Council Chambers during the battle, and I got there with the rescue teams not long after. The place was a nightmare." Shepard's eyelids fluttered and they cracked open for just the merest of moments before she blinked again, and finally forced them open. Seeing her former Captain standing at the end of the bed, she smirked faintly. “Good thing I’m used to nightmares then, huh?” The combination of morphine, exhaustion and pain soon saw her eyes close again, but not before she managed to glance over at Ashley and smile _her_ smile; to let her know everything would be alright. Karin was satisfied that Shepard was recovering, albeit slowly, and noted in the file that the commander should remain under observation for at least forty-eight hours, if not seventy-two, depending on how she responded over the next couple of days. Her injuries had been intense; her recovery would likely take some time.  She sat back down to wait... again.

Anderson gave another long look at the woman he was proud to think of as his daughter, and then motioned to the lieutenant at her side. “A word outside, if you please Williams.” Looking up from where she sat staring wistfully at Erisa’s heavily bandaged body and bruised face; Ashley felt her gut drop at the Captain’s ominous words and stood to follow him; giving Erisa’s hand one last squeeze. Once outside the recovery room, Anderson looked Ashley up and down, doing his best to hide a smile. When he felt like she’d sweated enough; he held out a datapad to her. The lieutenant’s expression went from one of apprehension to curiosity and she took the datapad. “What’s this, sir?” she asked cautiously. “Your new orders, Lieutenant. As of this moment you are reassigned from the Normandy to serve as my personal staff aide.” A fire lit up in her deep brown eyes, but before she could say, or do, anything she’d regret; Anderson shut her down. “My first order is for you to remain here and keep an eye on Lieutenant Commander Shepard, is that understood?” Ash’s eyes narrowed, her brow furrowing in confusion and the Captain shook his head with a wry smirk. “Do I really need to spell it out, Williams? I want you, a marine lieutenant no longer assigned to the SSV Normandy or serving under the command of the Lieutenant Commander, to remain here and inform me of her progress...” Finally he saw the lights come on behind Ashley’s eyes and she grinned, saluting him with gusto, if only to keep from the _faux pas_ of hugging him. “Yes sir,” she said forcefully, “I won’t leave her side, sir.” Anderson just smiled. “I didn’t think you would, Williams. Now go look after our girl. Dismissed!” Throwing up another salute, she turned and headed back into Shepard’s room, an immovable smile on her lips.

She and Karin ended up spending a rather uncomfortable night dozing off and on in their chairs, as the commander repeated her brief visit twice more, before fully regaining consciousness the next morning. When Karin was finally able to perform a complete examination, she stuck by her forty-eight to seventy-two hour observation period and noted the results of her exam so Dr Michel would be able to review them. "Well, Commander. You seem to be doing well enough that I'm going to go relax for a bit, grab some lunch and give you two some time alone. Commander, _do_ try to remember you’ve just been through major surgery. Neither of you are in much of a condition to do anything... strenuous, shall we say?" That drew a sleepy smirk from Shepard and a slight blush from Ash, but both agreed and as the door closed, Shepard turned her head to look at the inexplicably happy marine at her side. "Hey, _mndani_." Her voice was quiet and still slightly laboured from the effects of major bronchial surgery. "What’s got you so... perky?"

Ash was all grins now that Erisa was awake and speaking, a huge weight gone merely by knowing her love was alive. "You do, dumbass. You scared the crap outta me, again, when I thought that chunk of Sovereign had done for you." Giving the smallest of sniffs, she wiped away an errant tear that had managed to slip free; but the smile on her face never faded. “I knew you weren’t gone though... even when all common sense told me you were... I just _knew_ you weren’t. You know, Anderson thinks Death is a little afraid of the fight you’ll put up when it comes time to take you.” Squeezing Shepard’s hand softly, she brought it to her lips and kissed the scarred, ruined skin then held the long, black fingers to her cheek. “I think he might be on to something.”

Erisa gave a wry smirk, "I can be a stubborn bitch when I really want something; you should know that by now.” She groaned again as she shifted slightly on the bed, but it was worth it to be able to hold Ash’s hand properly. "And I really, _really_ wanted to live. I’ll die when I’m damn well good and ready, not a minute earlier. Besides, it’s going to take more than death to separate us, _mpenzi_. I mean that."

Ash smirked and gave her love a steely look that practically smouldered. “You damn well better, ‘Risa. ‘Cause I’m gonna hold you to that.” She leaned over and kissed Shepard softly, a long, slow exchange that left them both short of breath, though for different reasons; Ashley had to restrain her own passions until they were both well enough to properly express them. Erisa gave a soft hum of contentment as their lips parted and sank back into her pillows. “Wow,” she said simply, “I need to get almost killed more often.” That earned her a hard glare and a slapped shoulder from Ashley, but even that teasing hadn’t driven the almost goofy smile off of the brunette’s face and Shepard had to ask. “Okay, what the hell happened while I was out? You’re grinning like a loon and as much as I’m enjoying all the PDAs; they’re not exactly on the down low.” Ashley held her grin a while longer, then propped Anderson’s holopad up on the bedside tray table; swinging it around into view. “Orders. Anderson’s pulled me from the Normandy and made me his aide.” A spike of hurt pierced deep into Erisa’s heart, to think that Ash would be so happy to be off the Normandy was inconceivable; more so that Anderson had given the order. The distress showed on her dark face and in her eyes and Ashley suddenly found herself reassuring her love that it wasn’t what she thought. “Hey... dummy; don’t start getting all stupid on me now, ‘Risa. Think. Why would Anderson pull me from your chain of command?” The question brought Shepard’s mind back from the brink of panicky thoughts of rejection and after a moment she smiled faintly; then smirked. "Because now that you’re an officer, the only hurdle in our way was chain of command... that cunning old bastard; he put you on his personal staff just so we wouldn’t have to hide anymore.” She smirked again, even though she was tiring fast. “Well, I guess that’s confirmation Karin told him ‘bout us.”

Ash flushed a little at that and nodded. “Well, that and I all but blurted it out when the doc asked about your scars.” Shepard reached up and brushed her fingers across the attractive pink blush that glowed on Ashley’s face. "How’re the rest of the gang? And the Normandy?"

Ash’s blush faded as they started talking shop, but her smile wasn’t going anywhere. "Well, you've seen me and Karin, so you know we’re fine. Wrex made it through with only a couple of scratches. I think he’s almost as indestructible as you.” Erisa smirked softly then coughed; the involuntary movement wracking her freshly operated on chest with new waves of pain that she couldn’t keep from her face. Ashley paused, but Shepard motioned for her to continue. “I’m okay, Ash. Karin said I’d be in pain for a while and that the coughing is normal; just the body trying to clear out the last traces of fluid from the lungs.” The explanation seemed reasonable enough, so Ashley continued; though her smile had at last been replaced by a concerned look. “Garrus took a big hit when the roof came in. Not as bad as you, but he still needed surgery. The lanky idiot shielded me with his own body even after we found cover,” she said almost fondly. That drew a smile from Erisa and she gently caressed Ash’s cheek. “That’s one more I owe him then.”

Ashley poked out her tongue. “I’m a big girl, you know ‘Risa. I _can_ take care of myself. He’s actually in the next room; Tali’s looking after him.” She paused, a hint of a smile on her face once more. “I get the distinct feeling he’s playing up the ‘wounded soldier’ bit whenever she’s around. You don’t think...” She left the question unspoken but Shepard gave her a light grin. “Yeah, I kinda do. I called him on it just before we jumped the Mu Relay. Didn’t think Turians could blush, but they can stammer pretty good.” They both laughed at that, though Shepard instantly regretted the movement it caused her ribs. “Well,” Ashley commented, “that’ll be interesting to watch. He’s too taciturn to ever say anything and she’s still a little too young and naive to notice.”  

“And you?” Shepard asked gently. “How’re you doing, really?” Ashley smiled lightly, "I’m okay, ‘Risa. Really, I am. We both knew this wouldn’t always be easy. It’s bad enough watching a squad mate get hurt, but I think I can say with some authority that it’s a hundred times worse when that person is the love of your life.” She paused, seeing a shroud of regret fall over Shepard’s face as she blinked a couple of times before casting her eyes elsewhere, unable to look Ash in the face.

She felt Ashley’s fingers lightly touch her chin, pulling her head back around to look at her as she leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Erisa's lips, lingering a little longer this time to reassure the commander. "Did I say I was finished, Skipper?  As much as I hate seeing you get hurt, it's part of the job. I know that and I can accept it. Wouldn’t be much of a marine otherwise, would I? Besides... it’s a two way street. I know you worry about me just as much as I do you; if not more. I mean, I’m a front line grunt, not a commando like you; so I’m going to end up in the line of fire more often, right? Figure if one of us has the more cause to worry it’s you.”  The brunette smiled softly and shrugged. “That’s just life in the Corps right? If other marine couples can do it, so can we.” It was an unspoken understanding they had; the knowledge that as career marines, the next mission could be the one that saw them forever separated, and if not, then the mission after that. If they let themselves dwell on it, it would suck all the joy from their lives; so all they could do was silently acknowledge it then move on. To fill the unknown quantity of time they had left together with life, love and happiness; to live in the now.

Shepard's smile returned to her face. "Hoo-rah, LT,” she whispered gently. “You know I’m recommending you for ICT after this, right? You’re too damn good a marine to waste on shit assignments any more. You hope for and want the best, while at the same time you’re prepared for the worst; you’ve got an indomitable spirit and an iron will and you're the most honourable, strongest woman I know. Alliance brass can’t afford to ignore those qualities any longer... and I’m going to make damn sure they don’t.”

Ashley blushed and leaned forward and placed yet another kiss on the commander's lips to keep her from speaking, the steady flow of compliments quite embarrassing her. "Hush, you’ll give me a big head. Now, the Normandy. Joker reports she fared well in the battle, but we've run her hard these past months and she took a couple of hits rescuing the Destiny Ascension so it will take a few weeks to complete the repairs. While she's in dry dock they'll also complete a few minor retrofits and give her a new paint job. So, the Alliance has given the entire crew two weeks of paid shore leave during the retrofits."

"Most of which I’ll spend in here. Great." Shepard said, rolling her eyes. Ashley chuckled softly. “I’m pretty sure shore leave doesn’t include time spent in hospital recovering from injuries incurred in the line of duty, skipper.” A moment’s hesitation crossed her face before she smiled, as if she’d come to a decision. “I’d... I’d like it if we could spend that two weeks on Sirona, sweetie. I want to show you where I grew up, and now that regs aren’t an issue I wannafinally introduce you to my mom and sisters. Would that be ok?"

Shepard paused, unsure what to say next, but the hopeful look on Ash’s face was all she needed to see to make up her mind and so she smiled warmly. “Yeah. Yeah, I’d like that. I think after six years of living for nothing but the next mission I’m about due a vacation. And it’s definitely time I met your family.” She smirked and gave Ash a wink. “I promise, no proposals.” That made the brunette laugh, and she gently stroked Shepard’s cheek before leaning in for another slow, lingering kiss. “Never say never, Skipper. If you do ask, I might just say yes.”

\-------------------------------

It was another four days before she was allowed visitors, almost a week since she’d first been admitted, but by that time Dr Michel was happy with her continuing recovery and had been glad to report that the worrying internal bruising on her organs hadn’t caused any further complications.  That day, a number of the crew came and went, mostly the ground team members, with both Wrex and Liara having big announcements to make.

The big Krogan was the first to visit and he made perhaps the longest speech either woman had ever heard him give before. "I owe you a debt of gratitude, Shepard. You trusted in me enough to let me come along for one hell of a ride and you held up your end of every deal we ever made. Hell, you even took on an extra mission to help me recover my ancestral armour. Together we destroyed those pale abominations Saren dared to call Krogan on Virmire and just like you promised,  you took me to the final battle with Saren. You’ve become many things to me Shepard, a respected commander and a trusted ally. My sister-in-arms and my Krantt. A life-long friend. For a Krogan, that’s a hell of a long time. That makes you your mate, you and Ashley, family.” He paused and gave both women his trademark grin, his eyes sparkling beneath his flame red crest. “Seeing you two together has made do some thinking; about my own people and our homeworld. It's time I went back to Tuchanka, to start seeing what I can do to change things. I'm not two hundred anymore. I can probably make a real difference now, even if it will take knocking some heads. But I'm ready to do that. It's time the Krogan quit being mercenaries for hire and worked for ourselves for a change. You'll always be welcome on Tuchanka, Shepard. You too, Ash. And when it comes to the Reapers that are still out there... well, I’ll just say this: if you find any more big monsters, you call me. The Krogan will come help you kill them!"

Not one for long goodbyes, he gave both Shepard and Ash a firm warrior’s handshake, arms clasped and wrists meeting before he nodded to them both. “Take care of each other, you two. Take it from an old soul; what you’ve found in each other... it’s rarer than you know.” With that, he was gone out the door.

Liara was the next to visit and she greeted the pair that had become her best friends with a warm smile. "I'm glad to see you are recovering well, Shepard. As much as I wish I could remain here with you both, I'm afraid I have business to attend to. I'm leaving for Thessia in the morning aboard a private transport. With Councillor Tevos' help, both the Matriarchy and the Asari Senate have recognised Benezia as an unwilling conspirator and a victim of Saren's indoctrination. Thanks in large part to you, Commander, House T'soni has retained its good name and standing amongst my people. It's time I returned home to ensure my mother's legacy is not forgotten. I have an executor watching the estate, but I need to make long term arrangements with her." She gave her friends a warm smile. "If you have the time I would be honoured to introduce you both to my homeworld. Where I grew up, both in Armali and out on the country estate; to show you what you have helped save." Shepard smiled faintly and looked at Ashley, who nodded. “We’re heading to Sirona first, once they let me out of here, to meet Ashley’s folks; but yeah, give us a couple of weeks and we’d love to come visit.” Liara smiled happily and hugged them both; a little more gentle with Erisa than Ash. “That’s wonderful! I’ll be waiting for your call.” She stopped and spared Erisa a wry smile. “Meeting the parents... you’ve come a long way from the Ice Queen who saved my life on Therum, Shepard.” Erisa smirked. “So have you, T’soni. You’re not exactly the blushing wallflower we dragged out of those caves, either.” The asari laughed softly. “No, I suppose I’m not. Be well, my friends. May the Goddess watch over you both.”

Once their friends had all made their visits, including a brief appearance by a still recovering Garrus and the little quarian who fussed over him, Shepard was allowed to have her omnitool back and while Ashley called her mom to make arrangements, Erisa booked them on the next available transport to Sirona; leaving in two days. The rest of the day went extremely well and by the afternoon, leaning on Ashley for support, Shepard was able to get up and take a short stroll to the common room at reception, where she ran into Dr Michel. Chloe's eyes zeroed in on the commander as soon as she came through the doors. "Well, Commander! Look at you. I guess tomorrow morning you'll probably be leaving us, assuming your stroll doesn't have any negative effects. Get yourself back to your room and don't overdo it. I want you out of here tomorrow and would hate to see you do something silly that might prevent that from happening."

Shepard gave the doctor a gentle smile. "Trust me, Doc, we’re not taking any chances. We have travel plans; it’s time to meet the parents and Ash wants to make sure I can handle the trip. This is a supervised test drive, not a lover's stroll."

Chloe had to laugh at the expression on Ashley's face, telling her that what Shepard said was completely true, but that she was also a little uncomfortable at being 'outed' so publicly. Chloe shook her head as she guided them back to the elevator to return to the inpatient floor. "Fine, I'll leave you to the care of your private doctor, but do me a favour and at least stay on your own floor. Doctor's orders."

The next morning, Chloe woke them bright and early at 8 AM. A quick exam with brief follow-up instructions for what remained of her injuries, and Shepard was cleared from the hospital. Shepard and Ashley stepped into the bathroom to shower and dress, and when they stepped out ready to depart, Dr Michel was waiting for them with Shepard's discharge paperwork. “It’s been an honour treating you, Commander. The Citadel owes you, both of you, a great debt. Now, remember to keep exercising and you’ll soon regain the stamina you once had. Other than that, I hope the next time I see you it’s under far better circumstances. _Au revoir_ , Commander.”


	30. The Final Thaw

Making their way back to the Normandy, the two marines boarded the dry-docked vessel and slipped past the different work crews that were managing the refits and repairs before making it to their cabin. Packing their footlockers, they cleared the small captain’s quarters of all their belongings, leaving it once again sterile and empty. Erisa looked about the now bare room and smiled a little sadly. So much had happened in here, for both of them. It was where she and Ash had fallen in love, where they’d spent their first nights together, had their first fight... as much as she hated to admit it, Shepard would miss the place. Oh, she might be back, after all, the Normandy hadn’t been reassigned; she was still its captain, but the ship had no mission now. And with Ashley temporarily serving as Captain Anderson’s personal staff, coming back to this cabin without her would leave it feeling terribly empty and alone. Ashley noticed the wistful, sad look and slipped an arm about Erisa’s waist, stepping up beside her and lightly kissing her temple. “We had some good times in here, didn’t we?”

The commander nodded and sniffed, an unexpected tear escaping the corner of one eye. “Yeah, good times...” Picking up her duffel bag, she swung it over her shoulder and the pair turned to leave, but Shepard paused as they left the room, stopping to gently stroke the inside of the door before throwing Ash a wry smile. “I was standing right here when I first fell for you... just after the mission to Edolus; when you’d stopped by that night and asked about Akuze. I watched you walk back to your rack from here and I knew I’d fallen in love.” Ashley smiled fondly at her love and shook her head. “Under all that ice and snow you like to throw around, you’re just a hopeless romantic, aren’t you?” Erisa shrugged and took Ash’s hand as they headed for the armoury. “Only when I’m with you, _mpenzi_. Only when I’m with you.”  Down on the lower deck they packed up their hard suits and field equipment; marking it for transport before passing on the shipping orders to the yeoman overseeing all incoming and outgoing deliveries during the refit. With that done, they finally headed to the temporary quarters Shepard had arranged for them until their transport to Sirona departed the next afternoon. Getting out of the skytaxi once it arrived at the Silversun Strip, the pair looked up at the apartment block they stood outside and double checked the address, Ashley giving a low whistle as she did so. “The Tiberius Towers... fancy. How the hell did you score us a pad here?” Erisa shook her head. “I didn’t. Anderson gave me the address and a key code. Said something about it being where he was going to retire.”

Entering the apartment, both women were a little stunned by the sizeable and stately quarters; but that didn’t last long as they soon made themselves at home for the one night they’d be there. Noticing some exercise equipment, Ashley pointed it out. “You might as well get settled in then put some time in on the stationary cycle, sweetie. Get your stamina back up to what it was, I’ll find the kitchen and see what I can do about dinner.” Erisa threw a spiteful look at the piece of machinery and sighed, then poked her head around the corner into the kitchen and wiggled her eyebrows up and down at Ash. “I could always skip the bike and ride you instead...” It was Ashley’s turn to smirk and roll her eyes, walking back to her girlfriend and turning her around by the shoulders then gently shoving her back into the small home gym. “Prove to me you’ve got the stamina for it first and maybe _then_ I’ll let you ride this...” she said, striking an exaggerated model’s pose, completely over the top with a sultry pout and smouldering eyes that set Erisa to giggling, then full blown laughing as Ashley switched it up and did her best Blue Steel. “Okay, okay,” she said, holding up a hand in surrender as she quickly ran out of breath. “I got it, exercise first, fun later.” The brunette smiled and nodded, dropping her posing to give Shepard a peck on the lips then an encouraging pat on the ass. “Good girl. Now git.” That night, after Erisa spent an hour or two exercising, they ordered take out sushi, split a bottle of wine and then soaked in the hot tub for hours; the warmth of the water, the closeness of their bodies and the week of unexpressed passions and desires leading to them both seducing one another and making love until the wee morning hours; the pair blissfully losing themselves in each other until they fell asleep, contentedly exhausted.

\-----------------------------------------------

Ambassador Udina was still burning from what he saw as the theft of the Normandy, and a personal, physical assault by Captain Anderson during its subsequent escape; but the Council felt they owed a personal debt to the commander and quickly ruled that Udina had acted completely outside the scope of his authority by initiating a lock-down on what at the time had been a Council vessel crewed by one of their own Spectres in the middle of a critical investigation. Udina, without a leg to stand on, was given a choice; to either retract his accusations or face charges of abuse of ambassadorial authority and obstruction of a Council investigation. Ever the political animal, he chose to quietly drop the issue, his personal grudge against Shepard however, wasn’t going away any time soon.

After only a single night of freedom, the Council requested an audience with the commander. Once again, Shepard found herself before the Council with Anderson and Udina at her side. Compared to being on shore leave, with no idea of what to do or how to act; even the pomposity of Council business seemed more normal to her than downtime. Councillor Tevos opened the proceedings by recognizing those present, and then made her opening statement. “Ambassador, Captain, Commander Shepard. We have gathered here to recognise the enormous contributions of the Alliance forces in the war against Sovereign and the Geth.”

Valern took up the spotlight next. “Many humans lost their lives in the battle to save the Citadel, brave and courageous soldiers who willingly gave their lives so that we - the Council - might live.”

And was followed by Sparatus in what was undoubtedly the most annoying of Council practices; the incessant breaking up of announcements so all three Councillors had something to do. “There is no greater sacrifice, and we share your grief over the tragic loss of so many noble men and women.”

Back to Tevos... it was like watching a badly choreographed tennis match. “The Council also owes you a great personal debt, Commander. One we can never repay. By defeating Sovereign you have saved billions of lives. You have the courage of your convictions and a ruthless determination to succeed. Through your actions, you have become a symbol of everything humanity represents.”

“Your species has an indomitable will,” said Sparatus again, “a fierce, savage spirit that will not bend or yield. We used to believe this made humans stubborn, even dangerous.”

It was Valern, the salarian, who clarified what his turian counterpart had meant. “But now we understand that these traits are what make you strong. There are dark times ahead, the Council needs humanity and its strength. Is humanity ready to take its place?”

Puffing up his chest like a peacock who’d found a mate, Udina became almost unbearably smug as he reached out to grasp the prize he’d been working towards his entire career. “As the Alliance ambassador, I accept your offer. Humanity will join its strength to yours. We will take our seat on the Council.”

Tevos nodded, but forestalled Udina’s no doubt flowery acceptance speech by looking at Shepard. “Given all that's happened, I am sure your recommendation will carry a great deal of weight, Commander. Do you support any particular candidate?”

It was her turn to be smug now, and with a chill smile and glittering eyes that spoke of a complete dislike for everything Udina was and stood for, she spoke. “We need someone with the courage to stand up for what he believes in.” A beat, a pause as she looked to Udina and smiled sweetly before twisting the knife. “Someone like Captain Anderson.” _Sorry Dad,_ she thought to herself silently _, but retirement just won’t suit you. At least here you can still do some good._

Donnel Udina could barely contain his fury, but he managed to rein in his temper and with a rigid voice and a cold look, turned to Shepard. “Hmm, are you sure about this, Commander?” he asked with all the persuasive charm he could muster; despite knowing it stood no chance against the Commander’s low opinion of him. “The Captain is a soldier, after all, not a politician.”

Erisa smirked cruelly at Udina then looked over to the assembled Councillors. “That’s the whole point. I'd rather have the Captain on the Council than any politician _I_ know, Councillors.”

Tevos nodded, suppressing a smile. She’d never much cared for Donnel Udina’s aggressive and sometimes underhanded methods. Shepard’s choice was a pleasing one. “The shadow of war darkens our future; selecting someone with military experience is a wise choice,” she said, advising her fellow councillors.

Somewhat surprised by Shepard’s recommendation, and not a little hesitant to accept the position, Anderson squared his shoulders and stepped forward, sparing a glance at Erisa that all but asked _Why me?_ “I'm honoured, Councillor. As humanity's representative, I'll do everything in my power to help the Council rebuild. The battle with Sovereign destroyed our illusions of peace and security. Now the galaxy will look to us - the Council - to defend them.”

Shepard smiled softly; she’d known Anderson would be perfect for the job the second Tevos had asked her for a recommendation. Addressing all four of the councillors now, she stood proud and defiant before them and delivered a last warning. "Sovereign was only a vanguard. The Reaper fleet is still coming. Hundreds of ships, maybe thousands, and once the Normandy is ready to fly again, I'm going to find some way to stop them. Now if you'll excuse me, Councillors, Ambassador, I'm going to start my two weeks of shore leave." With that, she spun on her heel and walked away; done with politics for what she hoped was a very long time.

Watching her leave, now Councillor Anderson smiled wryly and turned to his peers. “Shepard's right. We're on the verge of war with an enemy unlike any the galaxy has ever known, a war for the very survival of all life as we know it. Humanity is ready to do its part. We will not back down. We will not surrender. We will lead you into battle against the Reapers and we _will_ drive them back into dark space!”

\-----------------------------

Shepard slipped back into the Tiberius Towers apartment and as soon as the door closed behind her, she leant back against it and sighed in relief. Finally she was free, every last little unfinished piece of business neatly squared away and she could at last focus on what was becoming the most important constant in her life; Marine Lieutenant Ashley Williams. Moving to the kitchen she took a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and cracked the lid, taking a swig before she unbuttoned her dress jacket and made for the bedroom. "Ashley? _Mpenzi?_ You here? What time does our shuttle leave? How much time..." She probably would have kept on rattling questions off if Ash hadn't walked out of the bathroom, towelling off her hair.

Erisa smiled, never unhappy with the sight of Ashley in just a towel, and she moved to wrap her arms about Ash when the brunette stopped her, a hand firmly planted on her own chest. "Oh no you don't,” she said with a grin. “I know that look. And as much as I’d enjoy the distraction sweetie, we’ve only two hours to get to the shuttle or we’ll miss the MSV Olympia. Plus, I'm packed and you're not, so get started, Miss Shepard. I'll help you once I’m dressed.”

Shepard chuckled and shook her head softly; there’d be plenty of time for that later she guessed. The two women dressed quickly, Ash in the same tight jeans she’d worn that first night, as well as the same leather jacket but this time it was over one of Erisa’s Eagles T-shirts; whilst the commander, now on leave, had never looked more like a country girl, wearing a tight pair of old jeans, ankle boots, one of her tailored, single-sleeve tank tops and a blue and white plaid shirt, the ends tied up under her modest bust; all under a special edition N7 leather jacket. Incongruously, both women still wore a barrier generator and a holstered sidearm on each hip; somewhat breaking the civilian illusion. When they were done packing, Shepard looked at Ashley's single duffel bag, and then at her two overstuffed ones. Ash smirked at the difference and shook her head, "Ah, the downside to being a Spectre. Look at all that crap you have to carry with you all the time!” Erisa shrugged and checked her chrono, their transport was almost here. “I’d rather have my gear and not need it, than need it and not have it.” Her girlfriend nodded. “That explains why you’re shipping our hard suits home as well...” Beeps from their omnitools interrupted them and Ash smiled, picking up her duffel. “That’s us.”

**\-----------------------------**

The journey to Sirona, the third planet out in the Ursae Majoris system of the Exodus cluster, only took two days, most of which the pair spent in their modest, if well appointed cabin aboard the passenger liner Olympia. Shepard made the most of the quiet trip, the first space flight in months that wasn't seeing them chase down a rogue Spectre, an army of geth or corrupt Mega corps, just relaxing and catching up on her reading; revisiting her old favourites like Poe, Melville and Emerson as well as familiarising herself with Ashley's literary heroes like Tennyson and Whitman. For Ashley the trip wasn't quite as relaxed as every minute brought them closer to a family reunion and the tense moment of explaining her newfound sexuality to her mother and sisters. Eventually Erisa had to drag her out of their cabin and off to dinner aboard the liner's four star restaurant, just to get her mind off of it. "Don't worry about it so much, _mpenzi_ ," she said gently over dinner, "your mom and your sisters love you, right?"

Ash pushed her barely touched salmon steak around her plate then almost gulped down half her glass of Loire Valley Sancerre. "Yeah, of course they do. But..." Shepard cut her off as she reached across the stylish table setting to touch Ash's hand, slipping her gloved fingers between Ashley's.

"But nothing," she said firmly, "all that religious crap about same sex relationships disappeared a hundred years ago. Even earlier in the military. Your family loves you; they'll accept whatever you have to tell them." She squeezed Ash's hand reassuringly. "And I'll be right there with you... terrified out of my wits."

That got a grin out of the brunette and she shook her head fondly at Erisa. "You, scared of something? That'll be a first."

The commander smiled wryly. "When it comes to you, my love, there's a lot that scares me; you know that. Meeting a girlfriend’s parents is pretty damn close to the top of that list. Facing down a full squad of hostiles doesn't worry me as much as not making a good impression with your mom, you know. I'm not exactly renowned for a sunny disposition and a charming personality."

The fact that Erisa was just as nervous as she was, if not more so, helped a lot and Ashley soon cheered up. "Relax sweetie, they'll love you. I do. And if that's not enough for them, then... well, we'll just go it alone." The sudden boost in Ashley's confidence had brought a familiar spark back to her brown eyes that Erisa found irresistible and as they moved onto dessert, a rich chocolate mousse; the commander slipped a foot out of her ankle boot and slowly began to run her toes up and down the inside of Ash's leg, creeping ever higher. Doing her best to ignore it, Ashley tried focusing on her dessert; biting her lip at the sensation of Erisa's toes brushing against her inner thigh until with a shake of her head she looked up and locked eyes with her lover, a hungry smirk twisting her lips. "Damn you..." she breathed huskily.

Licking her lips slowly, Erisa held Ashley's gaze and began to gently massage the brunette's dampening core with her heel; until at last she pulled a soft moan from Ash. With a devilish gleam in her eye, she quickly called for the check and the two headed back to their cabin, fighting to keep their hands off one another until they were alone. For the rest of the journey Ashley was kept far too busy to worry about her family's possible opinions.  

The next morning the MSV Olympia red-shifted out of FTL and sailed majestically into the Ursae Majoris system; slowly drifting into orbit about Sirona. Together, Ashley and Erisa gathered with the other passengers on the observation deck to watch the colony world heave into view. It was a shimmering, blue-green world under an orange sun, with three small, blue moons orbiting it; and Ash’s face lit up with a smile at seeing home again. Smiling softly, Erisa wrapped an arm about her waist and pulled her close. “Looks like a lovely world, _mpenzi._ ” Ash nodded happily and pointed out a star shaped cluster of light just coming into dawn on the edge of the planet’s horizon, “That’s Coleville; my hometown.” Looking at her chrono, she adjusted it for local time and smiled. “Nearly zero five hundred there. Come on,” she said, smiling happily as she spun out of Shepard’s arm and grasped her hand, “we should grab our gear and head for the shuttles.”

The ride to the planet’s surface was short, but longer than Shepard was used to; dropping in a Mako was faster than any shuttle descent could hope to be, but they weren’t in any rush this time. No big bad to chase down here, and as the transport touched down, the pair walked hand in hand to the embarkation ramp. As the door of the transport opened, they looked at each other, smiled, and knowing the obstacles that lay before them, boldly stepped out into the bright Sironan dawn sun. There was no missing their welcoming party;  as beneath a large banner proudly emblazoned with ‘ **Welcome Home Lieutenant Williams** ’, there stood a cluster of four women, all jostling for position and eagerly searching the faces of the new arrivals. The youngest of them, whom Erisa recognised from Ash’s vidmails as Sarah, was the first to spot them and she slipped past the spaceport’s barriers; running towards them. With a grin, Ashley dropped Erisa’s hand and ran to meet her little sister, hugging her tight and grinning happily. Shepard felt a momentary pang of loss; a fleeting frown crossing her face like a cloud passing over the sun as she thought of what she’d lost; what the Batarians had taken from her. But, a shake of her head brought her back to the moment and she flushed a little beneath her dark skin as she remembered that Ashley was her future now; and with any luck by the end of leave she’d have a new family here on Sirona. Sara had taken her sister’s duffel and led her back into the family fold where the brunette had been quickly smothered with hugs and sisterly kisses, before the oldest of the Williams’ women had welcomed home her daughter. In unknown territory, Shepard had turned all marine again, assessing the situation and holing up in neutral terrain; happy for now to watch Ash and her family; but she hadn’t been forgotten. Linking arms with Ashley, her mother directed her youngest ones to take their bags, before coming over to greet the Commander, a warm smile on a face that looked very much like Ash’s. Extending her hand in welcome, she spoke in a warm, mellifluous voice. “Welcome to Sirona, Commander.”

After quick introductions it didn't take long for a skycar to pick them all up and they returned to the Williams family home out in the suburbs. Ash and her sisters spent much of the ride catching up, and their mother, Alison, was still speaking as they walked through the front door. "When you said you were bringing home a girlfriend while you were on leave I had no idea you meant Commander Shepard! Can you imagine it? The Saviour of the Citadel and my Maddie, gal pals."

Ash grimaced a little at being called Maddie. It was her middle name, short for Madeline, but one her mother used almost exclusively. The name Ashley may have been her father's choice but it was clear what name her mother had preferred. Alison and her sisters kept talking; bombarding both her and Shepard with all manner of questions and Erisa shot Ash a short glance _. If you don't tell them now, it'll be impossible to do it later without a lot more explaining, mpenzi._ Though not exactly psychic, Ashley didn't need to be to know what her love's to-the-point look had meant and she coughed, trying to get her family's attention. It wasn't enough and they kept right on firing away with questions until Ashley finally snapped and let out an ear splitting whistle.

 Suddenly faced with four pair of eyes and four shut mouths watching her expectantly, she almost lost her nerve, but summoned up her courage and pushed on. "Uh, I... I think you misheard what I said when I called to tell you I was coming home on shore leave. I didn't say _a_ girlfriend, mom. I said _my_ girlfriend."

Alison's brow furrowed in confusion and Ash's sisters glanced at one another before their mother tried to clarify things. "Yes, I know dear, and you brought the Commander here, your girlfriend." She paused and shook her head. "Very odd, you know. In your father's day officers and enlisted didn't mix. But then I suppose working with the first human Spectre must make things a little different..." They still weren't quite getting it; at least most of them weren't. Erisa did notice the second oldest, Abby, looking at her and Ash a little oddly; a glimmer of comprehension hovering in the corner of her eye.

Ashley, her courage holding on by a thread at this point; drew strength from Erisa as she felt a gloved hand slide inside and clasp hers. Squaring her shoulders, she raised their obviously coupled hands up until they were squarely in view of all. "Mom..." she said slowly, "Sis... Commander Shepard is my former CO... _Erisa_ Shepard is my _girl_ friend." She sighed and Shepard leant over to kiss her temple softly, trying to help drive the point home. Ash smiled faintly, thankful for the moment of support. "I am trying to tell you all I'm in a committed relationship here, and it's with another _woman_." That finally got the message across and the lounge room went dead silent. Blank stares met her gaze as she went from sister to sister to their mother; looking for any sign of comprehension, of acceptance as her family tried to absorb what they'd been told. Eventually Sarah spoke first. "But... you dated Kyle Jensen in senior high." Her young eyes narrowed as she studied her sister intently. "Are you gay now or somethin'?" 

 Reflexively Ashley shook her head. "No, of course not!" She faltered after that though, aware of just how stupid the denial sounded when she was standing so close to Erisa, holding hands having just been kissed. "Well... not, not unless it's 'Risa. I didn't suddenly turn gay, guys. What I did do was find someone. Someone who loves me and that I love, someone who makes me feel like I'm good enough. It just happens to be that that person is... another woman," she said, finishing as gracefully as she could. Shepard, for her part, did all she could to clarify. "In case you're all wondering, no, I'm not gay either. I didn't _turn_ Ash gay or anything. What I am is bisexual; and that's what I think Ash is too. We're no different from anyone else; we can't help who we fall for any more than you can. It's just... well..." she really couldn't think of any way to say it without coming off superior so she grit her teeth and forged ahead regardless, shrugging politely. "We're able to accept that love, or attraction, doesn't care about gender."

After a few tense, gut churning minutes Ashley’s mom and sisters swarmed the nervous pair and engulfed them in hugs. It was pretty clear they were as accepting as Shepard had predicted; but the release of all the tension and anxiety still made Ashley cry; though they were happy tears that Erisa gently kissed away. Once the dam had broken  and the obvious, and more awkward, questions had come flooding out to be fielded by the couple as best they could; they answered everything they were asked until Alison called her brood to order. Once they all had a drink in hand and had settled down comfortably in the lounge, the Williams women demanded they tell the entire story of how they met. Much to Ashley’s embarrassment, Shepard was more than happy to comply. The whole story about Eden Prime and the Geth was a great tale, as well as some of their more personal moments aboard the Citadel, but it didn’t get really interesting until Therum; with the sobering reality of Erisa’s sniped leg and her sure to be fatal leap for the Normandy over a burning lake of fire; only to be rescued by Ashley. Shepard paused in her telling, an expression of profound love coming over her face as she continued. "It was insane, really. There I was, an officer and her CO to boot, and I found myself, quite literally, falling for the most stunningly attractive, most courageous marine I’d ever met. When Ash caught me above that fiery lake I was just filled with this sense of... complete safety.” She paused and looked about the room. “I’ve seen some horrible things as an N7, some of them deeply personal and scarring. For six years I’d not felt truly safe again,” reaching across, she took Ash’s hand in hers, intertwining their fingers, “until she caught me in her arms. And then nothing in the world mattered but her.” She paused and gave a guilty smile. “I can honestly say we didn’t break regs... until I found a loophole. Then we may have broken them. Often.”

She gave a dry smirk, twisting as Ash punched her in the ribs, blushing furiously. “Ashley’s a hell of a marine, Alison, and I’m more than proud to have served beside her.” She caught a quick whisper passing between Abby and Lynn then saw them grin and she shook her head in bemusement. “I’m gonna guess one of you made the ‘how about under or on top of her’ joke. Am I right?” Guilty, abashed smiles met hers and she smirked back. “I’ll say no comment for now. You can ask your sister later if you’re really that interested.” Turning back to Ash’s mom, she smiled warmly. “To be honest, I was a mess before I met Ashley. She helped pick me up and put me back together, for that I love her more than I think she realises. I know I’m incredibly lucky, because I had the most beautiful person in the galaxy somehow fall in love with me too. I still don't understand what I've done to deserve it... but I’ve learnt not to question it. Ash makes me feel whole, and safe.” Ashley blushed, a little embarrassed by Erisa’s words, but lovingly took one of her hands and finished her side of the story, relating how she’d fallen for Erisa only slowly; and after a good deal of confusion. It had taken the possibility of losing Erisa altogether for Ashley to have admitted her feelings and discovered a different side to herself than she’d known existed. Closing out the tale, she then focused her attention on her mom's face. "I hope that’s not too weird? Did we just totally freak you out?"

Alison smiled softly and cast a loving look at both her daughter and Erisa. "Well, I’ll admit to being a little surprised... but freaked out? Absolutely not, my dear. Love knows no bounds, it doesn’t matter to me, to us,” she said looking to her younger daughters, “who you love, as long as they love you back and you’re happy. Are you?” Ashley smiled goofily and nodded, getting more and more comfortable with her family’s acceptance to the point she was relaxed enough to snuggle into Erisa’s side. “I am, mom. I really am.” Alison nodded, she knew her eldest daughter well enough she’d known that ever since the pair had stepped off the transport at the space port. “Good, then that’s all that matters, and it sounds like I owe the Commander for saving your life. Though my guess is the way you marines live; you’ve both done that for each other more than once!" At that statement, Ash and Shepard grinned knowingly, and Alison and her daughters happily beamed open, loving smiles at both of them.

After dinner, when the three sisters had all returned to their own homes or apartments; they retired to the living room, where Alison entertained Erisa, at Ashley's expense, with pictures and tales of the adventurous childhood of one Ashley Williams. Ash was embarrassed time and again, but simultaneously thrilled at how well two of the most important people in her life were getting along. All her worrying had clearly been for naught. As she sat back and watched her mom's face as she relived all the early years and ‘Risa's rapt attention and warm smiles at listening to the highly embellished stories of Ash's daring do, she thought simply, life is good. She was so comfortable, she didn't even realize she had fallen asleep until Erisa was sitting next to her, gently caressing her cheek and smiling at her with an expression of unbridled affection. As Ashley’s eyes slowly opened, Erisa smirked softly and lightly tweaked her nose, "Come on, sleepyhead. It's half past dog watch; time we hit the rack. Alison,” she paused at a cough and looked back to the older Williams who gave her an admonishing tut, “I mean _mom,_ has made up the guest room for us." Ash sat up and yawned, nodding, still only half awake.

“Hang on,” she asked post yawn, “the guest room?” Alison smiled fondly and responded to her daughter, "I thought the two of you might like a little more privacy than your old room would afford,” she said tactfully, before looking at Shepard knowingly. “The upstairs walls can be paper thin and Maddie has quite the voice.” Ash blushed beet red and Erisa had to clap a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing uproariously. “Mo-om!” cried a mortified Ashley, but Alison smiled and winked at her daughter’s girlfriend. “She wasn’t always as good as she is now about hiding boys... or in your case, my dear, girls.” Giving a light, carefree laugh, she smiled happily at her eldest.”I've missed you, Maddie. I'm so glad you came, and brought Erisa with you! Now, off you go, and I'll see you tomorrow. Breakfast is at eight if you are so inclined. Otherwise, just come out when you're up.”

The next week passed in similar fashion, mother, sisters and daughter getting all caught up on each other's lives, with Erisa being brought into the fold like she had been a member of the family forever. Shepard was incredibly happy with the way the visit was working out, learning more about the Williams family than she ever thought possible in such a short visit. By the third day it had all become a little too much for her though, and despite her best efforts to maintain her composure, Erisa broke down. Explaining why had turned out to be easier than she’d feared though; with Ashley at her side and holding her hand, explaining the horrors of Mindoir; the death of her parents, the slaver’s attack and her week long game of high stakes hide and seek to her newfound family wasn’t nearly as bad as she anticipated. It also gave them some idea of just how damaged she’d been until Ashley had come into her life and all four of the other Williams’ began to understand a little more just how deeply Erisa was in love with Ashley. By the end of the first week, Abby, Lynn, Sarah and Erisa were fast friends, and there was an obvious, budding bond between her and Alison as well, one that Ash was very thankful for.

During their two weeks there, Ashley had loved the opportunity to show her homeworld to Erisa, and although the town of Coleville was little more than an expanded military base; it was wonderful. It wasn’t exactly a cultural centre, but along with the Alliance base and civilian starport there were a few museums and concert halls, as well as a huge open botanical garden. Since their time was utterly their own, they had spent it with Ashley showing Shepard the highlights, visiting all the old joints Ash had haunted growing up, as well as finally introducing Erisa to the grave of Serviceman Third Class Thomas Williams. They ended their last day with dinner at a wonderfully bohemian little cafe that doubled as a hangout for the local poets and artistes; where after a few drinks the pair finally dared one another into joining the poetry jam. Erisa had gone first, keeping it simple with a relatively tame but nuanced recitation of Poe’s ‘Dream within a Dream’, but Ashley utterly surprised her, for the first time finding her own voice; her own words, and the cramped little cafe that was hazy with smoke and jubilant with good natured revelry faded into nothingness as Ash spoke to her and of her; their eyes locked in an adoring gaze.

‘Her soul; submerged in the fires of hell,

Cooled in the waters of heaven, and

Hammered relentlessly by the Gods.

She is a weapon, forged with both Chaos & Serenity.’

Coming down off the stage, Ashley had blushed lightly at the applause; a blush that only deepened to crimson once Erisa had crossed the room and kissed her deeply and passionately before the entire audience. Wolf whistles and ‘huzzahs’ had quickly brought Shepard to her senses though, and a little embarrassed, but laughing happily, the pair had snatched up their coats, taken a bow to their impromptu audience and fled out into the night, hand in hand. They took a walk in a beautiful park near the town centre, enjoying the quiet and tranquillity of a stunning star-filled sky before they ended their night at home, perfectly naked, making sweet, tender love into the midnight hours, until they fell asleep, deeply entwined in both body and soul, content and at peace. 

Later that night, while Ashley slept, Erisa rose and walked to the balcony doors. The night was warm, a hot breeze blowing from out of the western plains, so without so much as a robe on, Shepard opened the doors and stepped out into the night air; her attention drawn to the vast, rich indigo night sky and its endless depths. Sirona’s moons had started to rise, but so had a dark uneasiness within Shepard’s soul. She almost jumped as she felt bare arms slide about her waist; but that scent; that heavenly mix of shampoo and gun oil, wafted around her in a cloud and she relaxed then leant back, pressing her back into Ashley’s body. Lips lightly brushed her temple before she felt them again on her cheek as a chin rested on her shoulder. Gently, she folded her arms; laying her dark hands over Ash’s pale ones as she caressed her love’s forearms lightly. "What do you see, Shepard?" asked a lazy, dreamy voice. The commander looked up again at the vastness of space and for a moment she feared seeing the stars turn to red; and the moons begin to burn. "I see a bad moon rising, _mpenzi_.” She whispered softly in a voice tinged with doubt and fear. “There's trouble on the way and I don’t know how to stop it.”Ashley pulled her closer and Erisa burrowed into her arms. “The Reapers are still out there, lurking in dark space, and they're not going to give up just because their vanguard was defeated. They’re coming... bringing rage and ruin in their wake."  Behind her, Ashley looked up into the night sky as well, standing there cheek to cheek with her love as they thought of the coming darkness. In the end, the brunette marine simply shrugged. “Then we’ll do what we always do, ‘Risa. We’ll fight them. Together.” Shepard leant her head back against Ash’s shoulder, turning her head to briefly kiss a pale cheek. Together. Yeah... together sounded just about perfect.


End file.
